Project Class D: A Mahora Story
by D.M.Ash
Summary: This is an AU story, where another Mahora class gets caught up in the world of magic when a new teacher arrives alongside Negi. Will the addition of another class cause more mayhem, or will they actually serve to buffer the storms ahead? Note on Ch.1
1. Class 2D

**A little word before this story starts. I have read a few Negima stories where an entirely new class has been introduced to Mahora that attends the same year as 2-A, an example would be ****One Room Over**** by ****JCroe****, which is the only one that I can name properly at the moment. This would be my version of a class that supposedly exists alongside 2-A, but is never talked about. Anyway, this story is definitely AUish, and the most interesting part is that Class D only has one OC in it. The rest are from four different series that I'm sure most of you will recognize some of them when you read the list.**

**This is a side project of mine, 'cause some of those damn ideas that popped into my head wouldn't leave my head, especially since I've been watching PVs of a sequel to one of the series lately, and I just keep going back. Anyway, so if you like it fine, if you don't, that's okay too, just don't be overly negative about it please if you voice your opinion.**

**One last thing, I'll be using Second Childhood Sword elements in this story, so if you've read that Negima story, then you'll most likely know what will probably happen. There's no need to read Second Childhood Sword to get anything, but it's just a heads up to let everyone know.**

Project Class D – A Mahora Story

Chapter 1 – Class 2-D

_September 1, 2002_

_Wales – Meridana Academy_

A graduating ceremony for magi students at Meridana Academy, everyone's heard this story before, Negi being called up by the Magus to receive his diploma for completing his magic schooling, with Nekane and Anya watching with interested eyes, Anya already having received her diploma. Also, there's always someone else that's also receiving a diploma, usually the last person to receive it. Well, this time's not so different as the Magus called out the last name to be called up, "Akuro Sakuragi!"

The teen that was called up was in a totally different state then the other graduates, one that made Nekane Springfield worry slightly, due to his small limp in his step. His short black hair was in a bit of a mess, he had only half vision in his brown eyes, since his left was covered with bandages, along with his forehead, and his left arm was also in bandages. If one were to lift his left pant leg, they would also see bandages wrapped around it, causing his slight limp up towards the front. All in all, his two nodachis, Yatsusuna and Ryuhana, were slung on his back in a crooked fashion.

If anyone wants to know, it was the result of Akuro getting the short end of the stick during the final exams; he underestimated his opponent, a golem drake made of sand, and nearly got smashed for it, especially when it revealed it's true powers. Being stripped of his weapons and being only armed with a practice wand didn't help much either when he looked back at the situation. In the end Akuro was alive, but hurt, and the wounds themselves took time to heal, even the few days of rest between the exam day and graduation period were only able to ease the wounds that he'd received slightly thanks to medicines that the school had on hand.

Now one would think that he would've been all healed up by magic already, instead of leaving it up to nature. Too bad for him that the golem dragon had that odd property of inflicting wounds that weren't curable by magic for a couple of days, leaving him in moments of discomfort. He shrugged them off however as he walked up to the Magus and accepted his diploma with a grin on his face, despite his condition. He looked around and saw someone he knew walk up to Nekane's side.

Yojiro Konoe, a Shinmei-ryu master, was the older brother of the Dean of Mahora, Konoemon Konoe. Sporting grey, shoulder length hair and a beard like his brother, not to mention a normal looking head, wearing an old fashioned western suit that made him look oddly out of place, he smiled at Akuro as he made his way towards him and the others.

"Well done Akuro, graduating in just four years. It's quite the accomplishment for you." Yojiro congratulated, his English crisp and clear without a hint of his Japanese accent.

"Thank you Master Yojiro, but I really couldn't have done it without Negi's help here." Akuro replied, also having a clean English voice. He looked sheepish as he looked at the boy in question, making him blush a bit at the sudden attention that he was getting.

"Oh, it was no problem; I just helped a little…" Negi looked nervous as he looked away in embarrassment.

That's when Anya suddenly stepped on Akuro's good foot, making him wince as she shouted, "Hey, I helped too you know! Don't forget that!"

"Ugh, yeah Anya, I didn't forget," Akuro winced from the pain, nearly losing his footing, "Ow…I know you helped, especially with Fire-type spells…"

Anya nodded with approval, while Negi scolded her, "You shouldn't have done that Anya, especially since Akuro's still recovering!"

As Anya was about to say something back, Yojiro gave a good laugh, causing everyone to look at him, "My, everyone's lively today, especially since it's a graduation, right Ms. Nekane?"

"Yes, I suppose…" Nekane looked a bit amused by the antics that were going on, "But I am happy that the three of them graduated together at the very least."

"Aww, thank you very much Nekane, especially for the last four years too." Akuro flashed a smile as he looked sheepish. Yojiro then added, "Yes, thank you very much Ms. Nekane for your help the past four years."

"Oh, it was nothing," Nekane smiled as a light blush formed on her face. The five of them were now walking down a hallway as Negi, Anya, and Akuro opened their diplomas, while Nekane and Yojiro were talking, "It's been a pleasure hosting Akuro these last four years, and he's been a big help too at times."

"Yes, I know quite a bit about that," Yojiro had a hint of a smirk under his beard, "He tells me in his letters that he's living with a beautiful young woman who's like an angel, you know."

Nekane blushed red at that, "Oh please stop teasing me Mr. Yojiro!"

"Who said I was teasing?" Yojiro supplied, his smile evident on his beard as he walked forward. Nekane was still red as she caught up to the others, who luckily weren't listening in on the conversation between the two.

Anya just revealed that she was going to be a fortune teller in London and now they were waiting to see what Negi's job was going to be. Opening it up it read, 'A Teacher in Japan'.

Everyone looked at it for a second before their reactions came out. While Akuro and Yojiro raised an eyebrow at the magical writing, Negi, Anya, and Nekane looked shocked at what was written as they gave out an, "Eeeeeeeh?" in surprise. Hearing that made the old man wince, while Anya shouted, "This is ridiculous? Since when can a ten-year-old be a teacher?"

"Let's go see the Magus, maybe this is all a big mistake…" Nekane looked a bit faint, before she spotted the Magus walking down another corridor in front of them. At that instant, Nekane and Anya ran after them, leaving the males behind. They looked at each other before they ran after them, with Akuro opening his diploma to see what he got.

The moment the males caught up to Nekane and Anya, they heard Nekane speak to the Magus, "P…Principal, what's the meaning of this? What does the diploma mean by 'Teacher' exactly?"

"Ho…a teacher is it?" The Magus looked intrigued as he turned to face the two females that have come to grill him, "It's exactly what it says, though a teacher is quite interesting…"

"Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake? There's no way a ten-year-old can be a teacher, especially somewhere far away like Japan!" Nekane looked like she was pleading for the job to be changed to somewhere closer to home like Anya's. Speaking of the girl, she added in her opinion right after Nekane's, "That's right! Negi's a real shrimp, and on top of that he spaces out all the time!"

Akuro and Yojiro looked at each other as they read what was on Akuro's diploma as they watched the scene in front of them. The Magus gave his final word on the matter, "If it was written on the diploma, then that is the end of the matter.

"Well, you must train hard, in order to become a great mage!" Finishing with that, the Magus gave a smile as he turned to Akuro and Yojiro, noticing that his diploma was open too. However before he said anything, Nekane felt faint again as she feel over in shock, making Negi call out to her, "Ah, sis!"

Akuro quickly caught her before she fell to the ground, causing his diploma to slip out of his hands in the process, landing written side up near the Magus. Nekane looked at Akuro with a blush as he said, "This seems to be happening quite a lot, isn't it Nekane?"

Helping her back on his feet, Nekane quickly recomposed herself, "Ah, thank you Akuro. I guess the shock overcame me…"

"Don't worry about it; it's perfectly natural to worry about family." Akuro replied as he bent down to pick up his diploma.

The Magus looked at Yojiro, and the two looked like they were having a silent conversation before he said, "Hmm, don't worry, the Dean of the school that you will be assigned to is a friend of mine. Just do your best, alright?"

There was a moment of silence before Negi gave a nod of confidence, "Yes sir, understood!"

"Ah, that's youth for you," The Magus chuckled, "And besides, it's not like you'll be heading to Japan on your own," At this Negi, Nekane, and Anya were confused until the Magus looked at Akuro, "Isn't that right Mr. Sakuragi?"

"Eh?" The three turned to Akuro as he gave the Magus a bemused look, "So you saw what was on my diploma?"

All the Magus did was give a nod, and Akuro showed Negi, Nekane, and Anya his diploma. On it, it started to read 'A merc' but that was crossed out for some reason, and below it said, 'A Teacher at Mahora, Japan'. Despite the Mahora part, it was essentially the same as Negi's but with a bit more detail. Everyone looked at it in shock as Akuro asked, "I take it Negi's going to be assigned at the same school that I'm going to, right?"

"That's right," The Magus looked calm now, as he turned to Nekane, "I take it that would be okay?"

"…Yes, if Akuro's there, I can rest a bit easier." Nekane admitted. Anya raised an eyebrow at that, "Are you sure about that Nekane? I mean, Akuro here hasn't even been back to Japan in four years. It'd be as foreign to him as to Negi!"

"Don't worry about that," Yojiro interrupted, "I'll teach the youngster about Japan myself if he wants it, and give Akuro here a refresher's course as well."

"I would greatly appreciate it." Negi said with a bow, making both the Magus and Yojiro chuckle. Giving a nod of approval, the Magus then said, "Well then, you should go and meet Ms. McGuinness concerning the way that the two of you are going to learn how to be teachers. I know that Oxford has a magi branch concerning this, but I'm not too sure about the details…"

Both Negi and Akuro nodded and as they walked off with Anya and Nekane behind them, the conversation turned to one of who would specialize in what subject, leaving the Magus and Yojiro behind. They managed to hear Akuro say, "How about this, Negi majors in English with Science as his second, and I major in Science with English as my second. We can cover each other like that if there's trouble when we teach?"

As the four turned the corner, Yojiro looked at the Magus, "Looks like the younger generation's getting into weirder situations by the year, aren't they?"

"Well, the world's constantly changing, would you expect any less?" The Magus looked to the outside where there was a view of the forest and mountains. Yojiro looked also as he replied, "No, I suppose not…"

* * *

_January 6, 2003_

_Japan – Mahora Academy_

On a train leading to Mahora Academy, Negi and Akuro were riding quietly as Negi looked around excitedly like a tourist, while Akuro was feeling nostalgic. Both were wearing similar coats, though one thing that was changed was the glasses that Akuro wore. Now he really didn't need them, since his eyesight was fine, but the glasses themselves were enchanted so that he'd be unrecognizable to others.

That in itself was weird, but Akuro had to wear them, since it was Yojiro's 'suggestion' that he'd wear them when he got to Mahora. He probably figured that the reason why was mainly about Konoka and Setsuna. All he knew was that they were attending Mahora's middle school section, but due to being forbidden from making contact with them, it was hard to think up a solution to this dilemma. One idea was to disguise himself as his alternate persona, Akari Sakuraba, but Yojiro shot that down saying that if he was going to teach his own class, it would be better to be honest and not use a disguise, especially a female one. That led to the discovery of the obscuring glasses, which made one unrecognizable to others, even to those that know you except for the ones that can identify you quite clearly, like Negi for instance. The idea here was that since Konoka and Setsuna haven't seen Akuro for eight years or so, it would be hard to recognize him since time can erode memories, and he didn't look the same as he did eight years ago either. In the meantime, Yojiro would work with his brother Konoemon to work a bit around the sentence that was imposed on Akuro eight years ago. However, he hasn't heard much concerning that situation for a few months now, and went with the enchanted glasses plan as a result.

Back to the present, Akuro watched Negi's expression as the boy spoke in perfect Japanese, "Wow, Japan sure is crowded, and there are so many women!"

"I forgot the whole crowded on the train thing too…" Akuro muttered to himself, finding it a bit uncomfortable to be in such a crowded train. Looking out the window, Akuro found that Japan was experiencing an unusually warm winter, since there wasn't any snow around, though it was still a bit cold that wearing a scarf and winter jackets were still recommended. The girls on the train were looking at Negi with interest since he was a foreigner, though a few took a few glances at Akuro, since he was beside the boy.

Noticing the stares, Akuro leaned forward and whispered, "Hey Negi, looks like you've got a few fans."

"Huh?" Negi looked up and sure enough, some of the girls that were looking at him flashed smiles and winks, and a few even started talking to him. Akuro just looked at the boy mage with an amused look, though he braced himself when he noticed that Negi was about to sneeze, and had the decency to look away as the skirts started flapping from the magic wind that came from Negi.

The girls looked around in confusion, wondering what the wind was, while Negi looked really embarrassed. That made Akuro mentally note, 'Someday, we'll find a solution to that sneeze wind…I know that it embarrassed Nekane and Anya a few times before…'

That's when the train made it's stop at the Mahora Middle School station, and this is where many of the girls got off, the rush surprising both males as they just stood there watching. However, they quickly snapped out of it when they realized that they had to keep going so they wouldn't be late, though Negi ran ahead of him, quickly disappearing into the running crowd. Akuro tried to catch up, but tripped and was promptly trampled by the last crowd of girls exiting the trains.

Moaning, Akuro got up and looked ahead thinking, 'Ugh, and it just had to happen to me…'

With that, Akuro picked up his book bag that he had dropped and made sure that the duffle bag he had with him was still there, along with Yatsusuna and Ryuhana, before quickly making his way to the Academy, following the girls that were running ahead of him. Good thing they were hard to miss, though some gave him looks as he passed them, most of them curious ones.

Meanwhile, a group of five girls were running together in groups of three and two respectively. Three were in front and two were at the back respectively, though they somehow managed to stay together in the crowd. The ones in front were talking to each other about an issue with their homeroom teacher, with the one in the middle, who had shoulder length brown hair with a pair of ribbons, along with dark green eyes, asked her friends, "We're getting a new homeroom teacher right? What happened to Yamanaka-sensei?"

The one to the left, who had long, dark blue hair and grayish brown eyes, responded with a cool voice, "She was needed elsewhere, from what I've heard from the other teachers."

The third girl, who also had shoulder length brown hair but in a lighter shade and was straight cut from the bottom along with matching colored eyes, added, "Um, I think she was taking over for the music teacher who's retiring early Haruka."

The middle girl Haruka, looked at her friend to her right said, "Oh? I thought that Arashi-sensei was staying on for another year. Did you hear about this Chihaya?"

"Yeah, though it's just recent from what I've heard though." The blue haired girl, Chihaya replied, "Yukiho must've heard it from someone in our class, right?"

"Y-yes," Yukiho, the third girl nodded as she kept on running to keep up with the others, "I overheard Akiyama-san talk about it yesterday…"

At the back, the two girls, one with shoulder length brown hair and matching colored eyes named Yui Hirasawa, and the other who also had shoulder length brown hair but in a lighter shade, wearing a headband and also had golden brown eyes, named Ritsu Tainaka, were talking to each other about music when they overheard the three talking. Yui spoke up saying, "Yeah, Mio heard it from Sawa-chan directly, so it should be accurate Hagiwara-san."

"Ah, I see," Haruka mused, "Then I wonder who's going to be our new homeroom teacher. Maybe Takahata-sensei?"

"Doesn't he already teach 2-A?" Chihaya looked at Haruka oddly, since they all know that Takamichi teaches 2-A. Ritsu answered that for her, "Nope, I heard that 2-A's also getting a new teacher too, but that's nothing more than a rumor though…"

"Still, I just wonder who our new homeroom teacher's going to be…" Haruka mused, looking deep in thought. She wasn't watching where she was going and tripped on a brick, causing her to fall, and she braced herself for hitting the ground.

However, that never happened and Haruka found herself being held around the waist by someone, who happened to ask, "Hey, are you alright miss?"

The girls looked and saw that it was Akuro, though they didn't know who he was. Haruka was helped up onto her feet by him as she replied, "Yes, I'm alright, thank you very much."

"It's no problem," Akuro replied. Looking around, he then asked, "Excuse me ladies, but have any of you seen a boy with red hair and having a large backpack and bandaged stick around here?"

"Sorry, we haven't." Chihaya replied, shaking her head. The other girls shook their heads too and Akuro gave a sigh, "I see… Well, thank you girls."

Running off, the girls watched as Akuro disappeared into the crowd of girls, wondering who he was. Yui looked at Ritsu asking, "Hey, who was that?"

"I dunno," Ritsu replied, "Maybe he's a student that's looking for his lost brother or something."

"Maybe, but why would he be here in the girls' section…" Chihaya mused before she looked at Yukiho, who was trembling slightly, "Yukiho, is everything alright?"

"Eh? Oh, yes, everything's fine now." Yukiho replied, sounding a bit panicked. Everyone in 2-D knew about how Yukiho was a bit scared of boys and dogs, and she was usually compared to Nodoka Miyazaki of 2-A in that regard, not to mention her quiet behavior too. That's when Haruka looked at her watch and shouted, "Aaah, we're going to be late if we don't get moving!"

Haruka started running, with the others running after her trying to catch up. As they ran, Haruka wondered if she was going to see Akuro again, though she figured that it was just a once in a lifetime chance meeting. Life can work in mysterious ways though…

Meanwhile, Akuro managed to get to the front of Mahora's main building, just in time to see Negi sneeze one again and strip Asuna of her uniform. Just right in front of Takamichi too, just as he was approaching the trio to greet them. Asuna let out a scream that Akuro swore that the whole campus heard it, "Kyaa! What the hell is going on?"

"…Did I come at a bad time?" Akuro asked, causing everyone to look at him.

Looking at all the faces, Akuro recognized Takamichi, but froze when he looked at Konoka. A number of emotions started welling up in his chest, but Akuro forced everything down and managed to keep a straight face. Asuna was covering herself and keeping her back turned to him, and he had the decency to look away as Takamichi said, "Ah, Akuro-kun, glad to see that you, uh, managed to make it."

Konoka looked at Akuro oddly, like she found him familiar and was trying to remember something. Thanks to the enchanted glasses though, it wouldn't come to her, and she shrugged it off, with Akuro noticing. A part of him felt hurt, but another part sighed in relief that she didn't recognize him as he talked to Takamichi, "Yeah, sorry about that. I got slightly delayed by a stampede of sorts."

Takamichi chuckled as Akuro took out a trench coat that he had in his duffel bag and held it out to Asuna saying, "Um, here. It may be a warm winter, but you're going to catch a cold like that."

Asuna quickly took the coat and put it on muttering, "Thank you." She gave Negi a venomous stare that he quickly cringed over, and Akuro couldn't help but shake his head at what had just happened. That's when Takamichi said, "Well then, why don't we head up to the Dean's office for both of your assignments?"

Both Asuna and Konoka understood Negi, since he introduced himself as a new teacher, but when they pointed at Akuro with a puzzled look, he decided to introduce himself too, "I'm Akuro Sakuragi, and like Negi here, I'm going to be a new teacher starting here at Mahora Academy."

"…Eh?"

* * *

_Mahora – Dean's office_

Akuro and Takamichi were the first ones in, since Asuna had run off to get a spare uniform after what happened outside, leaving Negi to wait with Konoka outside in the lobby. Konoemon Konoe greeted them, "Ah Takamichi, I see that you've brought Akuro here with you, but where is the young Negi Springfield?"

"Well, he's outside waiting," Takamichi replied, still having a light blush on his face, "Something happened earlier and well…"

Seeing Takamichi trail off, Konoemon brushed it off as something to deal with later and turned his attention to Akuro, "So, Akuro Sakuragi, it's been a while, over four years I think…"

"Yes sir." Akuro replied politely. Konoemon gave a light laugh as he looked at the young Shinmei-ryu user, "Please, no need to be so formal. Anyway I heard from my brother what your assignment is. Interesting that it was specific that you were to come here though…oh well, no need to fret on it I guess. Anyway, are the glasses working?"

"…Yes Dean Konoe, Konoka hasn't recognized me yet…" Akuro reluctantly replied. Konoemon gave a sigh, "That's good, maybe this will calm down those Kansai upstarts in the meantime; they've been making quite the fuss. Anyway, you'll be teaching class 2-D this term, so I hope that you'll be able to handle the task efficiently."

"I'll do the best that I can Dean Konoe sir." Akuro said with confidence. Konoemon nodded as he handed Takamichi a thin book before saying, "Takamichi-kun here will show you the way to 2-D's classroom."

"I understand Dean sir." Akuro nodded, along with Takamichi. As they were about to leave, Konoemon had one last thing to say to him, "Oh yes, one more thing. My other granddaughter is in 2-A, so could you please watch over her when you can?"

Akuro raised an eyebrow at that, but he silently nodded and walked out of the room after Takamichi. Konoemon sighed and thought, 'I'm getting too old for this, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet… Onto the next one…'

Outside, Akuro and Takamichi found Negi and Konoka still waiting for Asuna to get changed, and Akuro said, "I'll get my coat back later. Just tell the girl I'll pick it up during or after classes, or something like that."

"Alright Akuro." Negi replied. Takamichi added, "Oh, and when Asuna-kun arrives, the Dean would be ready to see the three of you."

Negi nodded in understand, and Konoka did too, though a part of her wondered why her grandfather would like to see the three of them together. Akuro and Takamichi departed, just as Asuna showed up in a track suit, Konoemon calling Negi to come in.

* * *

_Mahora – 2-D Classroom_

"So, ready to teach Akuro-kun?" Takamichi looked at Akuro with interested eyes, looking like he was evaluating his expression.

"I wish…" Akuro looked down at the roster that Takamichi had given him, which contained the list of the students that he would be teaching, though one name made him pause for a second when he quickly looked it over, "I admit that I'm a bit nervous. I mean I've never taught anyone in my life before…"

"Negi-kun hasn't either, and I'm sure that he'll be fine, just like you'll be," Takamichi assured him, "And besides, 2-D's a calm class. They're well behaved, so I'm sure that they won't be much of a problem. I've had the pleasure of teaching them myself as a sub, so I know that they won't give you a hard time."

"Oh, and what class do you usually teach?" Akuro kept the conversation going, though it was more for so he could have time to calm down from the nervousness. Takamichi noticed and decided to go along with it, "I used to teach 2-A, the class that Negi-kun's taking over from me. They're…energetic for a class, to say the least."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Akuro started to calm down as they stood in front of the door that had 2-D on it's sign. Next door had the sign 2-A over it, much to his surprise, and Akuro was about to grab the door handle when his hand suddenly stopped, and started shaking a bit. He withdrew it muttering, "Damn, still have first time jitters…"

"Haha, that's alright, why don't I go in first and introduce you?" Takamichi offered, something that Akuro graciously nodded, "I'd appreciate that Takamichi."

As Takamichi was about to open the door himself, a voice called out to him, "Ah, Takahata-sensei!"

Both Akuro and Takamichi looked up to see Asuna and Konoka heading towards them, though Akuro looked away when his eyes landed on Konoka. The two stopped in front of them as Takamichi greeted them, "Ah, hello girls, running late to class?"

Asuna and Konoka ran up to the pair, and Akuro looked into the roster to avoid eye contact. Both girls were focused on Takamichi however as Akuro studied the roster, looking at each of the various student pictures and names, though what he didn't realize was that he was looking at the 2-B pages instead of the 2-D pages as he kept his eyes down. He wasn't paying attention to the conversation that the girls were having with Takamichi until Konoka called out to Akuro, "Um, excuse me…Sakuragi-sensei?"

Looking up, Akuro looked at Konoka with a straight face, "Yes, um…"

"Konoka Konoe," Konoka introduced herself, not knowing that Akuro already knows her name, "Excuse me but have we met before? You seem very familiar…"

Gulping, Akuro saw that Takamichi and Asuna were looking at him, and he breathed once before saying, "Sorry Konoe-san, but I don't think so. I haven't been back in Japan for over four years now, so maybe you're thinking of someone else…"

Akuro didn't like lying to Konoka, but it was necessary as she mused, "Hmm, I guess you're right Sakuragi-sensei. Well, it's been nice talking to you, but we really need to get to class, right Asuna?"

"Eh…? Oh yeah, right! See you later Takahata-sensei," Asuna said, and before she left with Konoka, she handed Akuro his trench coat that was in her arms, "And thank you for earlier Sakuragi-sensei."

After Asuna and Konoka left for their class, Takamichi gave Akuro the 2-D roster and gave him a pat in the back, "Well, are you ready to start Akuro-kun?"

"…Might as well start this now…" Akuro muttered, putting his hand on the door. Opening it, he was greeted to a sight of class 2-D, who seemed to have heard the door open and settled into their seats.

When Akuro walked in, the entire class looked at him with mixed expressions, ranging from interested to surprise as Akuro walked up to the podium. Looking at the class, he cleared his throat and introduced himself, "Hello 2-D, I'm Akuro Sakuragi, and I'll be teaching science classes for, um, at least four terms here at Mahora, as well as being your new homeroom teacher. It's a pleasure to meet you girls."

There was only silence as Takamichi entered the room, with each of the girl's eyes locked onto Akuro in disbelief. Akuro took that chance to open the roster and look through the list of girls that were on it again. Looking at the list properly, he recognized some of the girls that he had bumped into earlier during the school rush.

1. Kureha Akabane

2. Mio Akiyama

3. Ritsuko Akizuki

4. Haruka Amami

5. Ami Futami

6. Mami Futami

7. Hibiki Ganaha

8. Yukiho Hagiwara

9. Ai Hidaka

10. Akari Himuro

11. Yui Hirasawa

12. Miki Hoshi

13. Makoto Kikuchi

14. Chihaya Kisaragi

15. Kanako Konoe

16. Tsumugi Kotobuki

17. Nodoka Manabe

18. Iori Minase

19. Azusa Miura

20. Eri Mizutani

21. Ran Otonashi

22. Ren Otonashi

23. Rin Otonashi

24. Elis Shihou

25. Takane Shijou

26. Ritsu Tainaka

27. Yayoi Takatsuki

Akuro's eyes narrowed slightly when they reached Kanako's name as he thought, 'Eh, so Kanako really is in this class… Figures that the Dean keeps the two of them separate from what I've been hearing over the years…'

Looking up, Akuro managed to hear one of the girls, who he identified as Ritsuko Akizuki, ask Takamichi, "Takahata-sensei, are you sure that he's our new teacher? I mean, he looks to be around our age!"

Some of the other girls nodded in understanding, though a few others looked at him with interest, particularly Kanako, who looked like she was trying to remember something. Being Konoka's identical twin sister, the only difference between them was that Kanako tied her hair in a ponytail a quarter down her back and kept a clip in her hair. Other than that, it was hard to tell the two apart appearance wise; both sisters were totally different in personality.

Back to the class, Takamichi assured them, "Don't worry girls, Sakuragi-sensei here definitely has all the credentials to teach here at Mahora. And anyway, if you think he's young, you should see the other new teacher."

The girls were confused by that, but things settled down with Ritsuko saying, "I guess that's acceptable if Takahata-sensei says so…"

That's when Ritsuko turned to Akuro and greeted him, "Hello Sakuragi-sensei, I'm Ritsuko Akizuki, the class representative of 2-D. On behalf of the class, welcome to Mahora Academy. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Ah, thank you Akizuki-san, I'll keep that in mind." Akuro was taken aback by Ritsuko's sudden business formality, but let it slide. He took out a textbook from his book bag and flipped it open, "Now from what I've read, you're up to this-."

All of a sudden, there was a loud, "Kyaaa! He's so cute!" from next door, nearly making Akuro drop his textbook. Takamichi couldn't help but smile, "Looks like 2-A just met their new teacher just now."

"To think Negi would get that kind of reaction…" Akuro found himself not looking forward to meeting 2-A for some reason, and it seemed to show on his face. He quickly shook it off as Ritsuko said, "Please don't mind 2-A Sakuragi-sensei, they've always been like that.

Nodding, Akuro looked at the class and saw that most of them looked at him with patient looks, though he thought that Kanako had a brief sour look on her face before she continued looking at Akuro, like he was some puzzle that needed to be deciphered. That's when he noticed one of the girls that he had met back outside, Haruka, was looking at him like she was trying to remember something. Suddenly she stood up and pointed at him shouting, "Ah, you're the guy that we ran into earlier!"

As the rest of the class looked at Haruka, Yui also jumped up looking at Akuro, "Oh yeah, he's the one that caught Haruka-chan during the rush!"

That's when Takamichi turned to Akuro and said, "Well, I think you'll do just fine Akuro-kun, so I'll leave things to you."

"Right…" Akuro watched as Takamichi left the room, leaving Akuro to teach 2-D. By the time he turned back to the class, everyone was talking amongst themselves, most likely about Haruka and Yui's outbursts. Sighing, Akuro managed to get things under control, "Okay girls, let's get started on today's lesson… but first, let's get on with the attendance before I forget."

Calling out each of the girls, he marked each of them down, and some stood out to him due to their appearances, but he didn't point them out, not wanting to look rude on the first day. Eventually he finished and said, "This is my first time teaching, so please bear with me for the first few days."

"Okay sensei!" 2-D called back with a nod.

Surprisingly for Akuro, his first class went without a hitch, as they were mostly attentive, though some still kept looking at Akuro with mixed interests. No doubt having someone around their age for a teacher was quite perplexing. At least their reactions were much calmer than 2-A's suffice to say. He had a few questions in his mind though, like why some of the girls were wearing something on their heads, but put it off until later.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Last Period Classes_

_2-D Classroom_

Negi Springfield was initially surprised at 2-A's sudden greeting, which was enthusiastic to say the least, and that's in the simplest terms. The other classes he taught weren't as enthusiastic, but they all had similar reactions to Negi teaching English for the middle school grade. At the very least, the other classes didn't try to snuggle him like 2-A did, something that he felt relieved about looking back.

Now, the boy mage was in front of 2-D's classroom door, and he heard from Akuro during lunch break that he homerooms this class, and that they're a very nice group of girls. Opening the roster, he flipped the pages until 2-D's list was shown, and looking at the pictures, Negi couldn't help but feel that there were some kind of similarities between 2-D and 2-A but passed them off as stray thoughts. He thought, 'Last class, I hope I can get through this alright.'

Opening the door, Negi walked in, and everyone turned to see him walk up to the podium. At this time, rumors of both Akuro and Negi had circulated around the school, though Negi was the more predominant subject since 2-D didn't say much about Akuro unless asked, and a ten year old teacher seemed more impressive then a sixteen year old teacher. They watched as Negi settled behind the podium and introduced himself, "Hello Class 2-D. My name is Negi Springfield, and I'll be teaching English for the next four terms here at Mahora Academy. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

There was a moment of silence, and Negi feared that they might react like 2-A did, but to his surprise, Ritsuko stood up and said, "On behalf of 2-D, we welcome you to Mahora Academy, Springfield-sensei."

The rest of the class nodded and clapped politely, something that took Negi off guard. He smiled and patted the back of his head, "Well thank you very much ladies. It's nice to have such a warm welcome at the end of the day."

"Yes, we can take a wild guess what happened during first period, right girls?" Ritsuko turned to the other girls, and they all nodded with some giggling.

"Alright, just let me take attendance first…" Negi looked at the list and started calling out names, though when he reached Kanako's name, he looked up and asked, "Um, excuse me, but you're related to Konoka Konoe, right Konoe-san? You look just like her…"

Kanako gave a bristled look for a second before she politely replied, "Yes, she's my younger twin sister…"

Negi nodded and kept on going until he reached the Otonashis, where it got kind of confusing for Negi as he asked, "The three of you are sisters, correct?"

"Yes, we are sisters, um, Springfield-sensei," The oldest of the sisters, Ran Otonashi, a girl with shoulder length hair that looked similar to Yukiho's except that it was longer on her left side, and is blue in color, though it seems to turn aquamarine halfway down, topping it off with a bell-shaped clip on the left side of her hair. Negi noticed she had lime green eyes behind a pair of glasses as she went on, "Not identical triplets though, just, um, triplets with identical voices."

"I see," Negi nodded, "Oh, but what about both of your sisters? Is it okay to wear those in class?"

Negi was pointing out the headphones and animal hat that were both on Ran's middle and youngest sisters' heads respectively. The middle sister stood up, having long blond hair that seemed to turn orange-brown halfway in a fashion just like Ran's, and her eyes were a shade of blue. Like Ran, she had a clip on the right half of her hair that was shaped like a music staff and wore large headphones that completely covered her ears. She spoke up in an energetic voice, "It's completely fine Springfield-sensei, and just to tell you, I'm the middle sister, Rin Otonashi. I have a problem with my memory, and if I don't wear these headphones, I tend to forget things, teehee!"

Looking bemused, Negi just nodded as he turned to the last sister, who had long, straight pink hair that transitioned into a yellowish blond. She had violet-pink eyes and wore a white animal hat that had blue ribbons on each side. Putting her hands together nervously, she gave Negi her answer, "Um… I, Ren Otonashi, got permission to wear this hat from Dean Konoe, so it's alright."

"Okay, I understand," Negi accepted their explanations without question as he went on, and things went smoothly as well, Negi only pointing out the beret of one Elis Shihou, who explained that it was an optional part of the uniform. After all that, Negi was about to teach when an all familiar scream erupted from next door.

"Looks like 2-A just met our new homeroom teacher…" Haruka pointed out, with the rest of the class just nodding in agreement. Negi hoped that Akuro would be alright, since he knew first hand what 2-A's greeting was like.

* * *

_2-A Classroom_

Shortly after Negi entered 2-D's classroom, Akuro showed up due to being delayed along the way, so the two just missed each other. Heading towards the doors of 2-A, Akuro braced himself, since what he had heard from Negi during lunch was…interesting, to say the least. Before going in, he opened his roster and flipped the pages until he came across 2-A's list. Studying the names and faces, Akuro saw Setsuna's picture, which he froze for a sec before going on to read the rest of the list of names.

Closing the roster, he prepared himself as Akuro remembered what he had heard during first period. Opening the door, he watched as a brush fell down from the top in front of him, and he picked it up, thinking of the infamous brush door trap. He gave a sigh as he walked in, tripping over the wire and landing face first on the ground with another brush landing on his head.

Fuuka Narutaki laughed and said, "Haha, he fell for it!"

Taking the brush off his head, Akuro couldn't help but grimace, 'Ugh, now that was an utter failure. A Shinmei-ryu swordsman falling for a prank…'

Putting both brushes back on the blackboard railing, Akuro patted himself off to get rid of the chalk dust. He looked at the girls and adjusted his glasses before introducing himself, "Hello 2-A, I'm Akuro Sakuragi, and I'll be teaching the Science classes for this term and the next three. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Again, there was a moment of silence that made Akuro feel like he was having a sense of déjà vu, until half the class leapt out of their seats and crowded around him with a 'kya!' The girls crowded around him, all asking questions at the same time that Akuro couldn't hear anyone clearly. He was bewildered for a second before he attempted to regain control of the situation, "Um, girls? Can you please back away…? Ladies, please be quiet!"

That last shout made the crowding girls stop, and before anyone could say anything, Akuro pointed out, "It looks like everyone has a bunch of questions, but can you please pick someone to ask, and the limit is seven only, since I'm supposed to be teaching right now. But for now, could all of you please return to your seats?"

All the girls in front of him seemed to accept those terms and returned to their seats, except for Kazumi Asakura, who the class silently nominated to ask the questions. She even had a microphone out as she introduced herself, "Kazumi Asakura, Mahora News Reporter. So only seven questions I see…"

"Uh huh, so fire away," Akuro leaned back against the blackboard to get comfortable as he folded his arms, "Just no inappropriate questions, alright?"

"Sure," Kazumi nodded, though Akuro swore that he saw a glint in her eye, "First off, how old are you?"

"Sixteen, turning seventeen in October."

"Where did you come from?"

"I came from Wales, lived there for four years."

"Oh, so do you know Negi Springfield?"

"Yes, the two of us attended Oxford together."

"Hmm, I see that you're Japanese, so were you born here, and where please?"

"That's…complicated. If I had to answer, my origins came from around Kyoto."

That statement made Konoka and Setsuna's ears perk up, though Akuro kept eye contact with Kazumi, not wanting to see their reactions. Hopefully, the enchantment on the glasses would hold and they wouldn't remember anything.

"Kyoto huh? Interesting… Next, where are you living right now?"

"Not sure. Negi and I just got here, and our living arrangements haven't been settled. At least mine hasn't."

"Uh huh, okay, next question: do you have a girlfriend?"

"Uh…No, I don't…"

Some of the girls started looking at him like a delectable piece of meat that Akuro found a bit disturbing as Kazumi posted her last question, "Last one: are you looking for a girlfriend right now?"

Raising an eyebrow, Akuro looked at her oddly, "…Now that's classified, and I ain't saying anything more about that."

That seemed to set off a few alarms in some of the girls, but they kept to their seats as Akuro prepared to teach. However, Kazumi wasn't about to give in since she didn't like the last answer that he gave her, so she begged, "Wait Sakuragi-sensei, just one more question please! Please!"

Looking at Kazumi, Akuro decided to play coy a bit, "Alright Asakura-san, since you looked so cute when you begged, I'll give you one more."

Inwardly smiling as Kazumi produced a light blush, but that quickly disappeared when she produced another question, "Okay, this may seem like a waste of a question, but are you really the homeroom teacher for class 2-D?"

Finding the question to be a bit too simple, Akuro replied, "Yes I am, but why would you ask that? I thought word got around already."

"Well, it's only rumors until now, since 2-D's famous for keeping secrets." Kazumi told Akuro, earning a look of interest from the Shinmei-ryu user. Since the time for questions was over, Kazumi returned to her seat, and Akuro began teaching class, though he wondered if some of them were paying attention at all, since some of the girls still had that sort-of hungry look on their faces, though some had dropped into the just interested category.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – campus_

After classes, the time where many students find freedom from the boringness of classes. It was later in the afternoon that Negi and Akuro were wandering around the campus, basking in the relief that their first day was over. They eventually met up at a fountain and Akuro was the first to speak, "So, how was your day Negi?"

"It was alright," Negi replied, "Teaching the girls wasn't as hard as I thought it would be at first."

"Hmm, you've got a point there…" Akuro mused as the both of them sat down on the bench that was beside the fountain. As they exchanged experiences with each other, Akuro couldn't help but remember an incident that happened in 2-A during last period. Something about how Asuna called Ayaka Yukihiro a shotacon since she was behaving differently towards Akuro then to Negi, and a fight erupted near the end of class. In the end Akuro had to separate them with a forceful separation by grabbing their shoulders, and he couldn't believe how much effort he had to put in to separate them.

Shaking his head, Akuro focused on now, and that's when he saw Shizuna walking towards them, though Akuro wondered who she was. When she approached, Negi waved to her, "Oh, hello Shizuna-sensei."

"Hello to you too Negi-sensei," Shizuna greeted back, "And I take it that you're Akuro Sakuragi-sensei, correct?"

Akuro gave a nod to that, "Yes I am, um Miss…"

"Shizuna Minamoto, I'm the student councilor and nurse here at Mahora." Shizuna introduced herself, "The Dean sent me to find you Sakuragi-sensei; he wants to talk to you about your living arrangements."

"…I see, well then, might as well figure this out, or else I'm going to be sleeping outside tonight." Akuro gave a slight chuckle as he waved goodbye to Negi as the boy took out his roster.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Dean's office_

Entering alone, Akuro went up to Konoemon's desk as he greeted the young teacher, "Ah Akuro-kun, glad to see that you've made it through the first day in one piece, hohoho…"

"It wasn't that difficult Dean Konoe." Akuro replied, sounding a bit tired.

"Yes, 2-D's one of the quieter classes, though they can be just as rowdy as 2-A given the right circumstances." Konoemon commented, "But enough of that. I've already given Negi-kun his living arrangements earlier, since he's easy to place despite the problems we have. You however, I had to take into consideration, unless you want to live in the female middle school dorms on campus? You can keep an eye on Negi-kun that way, since he's been assigned to stay with Konoka and Asuna-kun."

Any other guy Akuro's age would've jumped at that chance without thinking about it, but let's be real here, if something like that got out, it would be scandalous for Mahora, and Konoemon knew it. Negi could get away with it since he was only ten, or was it nine…but Akuro was sixteen, and with the sudden popularity of being a new teacher along with Negi, it would be hard to hide.

Anyway, Akuro raised an eyebrow at Konoemon's comment, "I know that you're not serious about that sir."

"Hohoho, I know, that is why you're going to be moving into the cabin that's beside the dorms," Konoemon informed Akuro, "It's been abandoned for years, and I was considering tearing it down during the summer, but Yojiro provided funds to fix the place up a few weeks ago on the terms that you would move into it when you arrived."

"Hmm, that does sound alright, I guess…" Akuro mused. Konoemon gave a nod as he handed Akuro the key to the cabin, in addition to another one, along with a map of Mahora, "Here's the key, and the rest of your things have been sent there and have been placed in a case that the other key opens."

Accepting both keys, Akuro bowed and said, "Thank you very much Dean Konoe."

"Hohoho, you better get on your way Akuro-kun, so you can have the time to settle in." Konoemon laughed as Akuro made his way out of the office. Akuro just shrugged as he readjusted the bags he was carrying before he left.

Outside, Akuro wondered how to get to the middle school dorms from the main building, and just as he was about to open the map, a voice called out to him, "Ah, there you are Sakuragi-sensei!"

Looking up in the direction of the voice, Akuro saw a student approaching him with what appeared to be a thin book in her hands, "Ah, you're…Akizuki-san right?"

"Yes sensei, you're right." Ritsuko looked a bit surprised that Akuro got her name right, "Wow Sakuragi-sensei, you remembered! Anyway, this is for you."

Ritsuko handed Akuro the thin book that looked oddly like a roster, "2-D wanted to throw you a welcoming party today, but most of us are busy with club activities, so this is to compensate for that."

Opening the book, Akuro was surprised to see that it contained more detailed profiles of each of the 2-D girls as he flipped through the pages. Looking at Ritsuko with a puzzled expression, she explained to him, "Since you're going to be our homeroom teacher for at least this term, it will tell you a bit more about us. Just don't lose it; it's the only copy in the entire school that we made ourselves."

"This is quite detailed, "Akuro commented, "Though it looks a bit worn…"

"Oh, that's because our previous homeroom teacher, Sawako Yamanaka-sensei, had it before, and she's been our homeroom teacher ever since we were 1-A." Ritsuko explained to him, making Akuro nod in understanding.

"Hmm, I guess I'll take a look at it after I settle in," Akuro put the book into his duffle bag, "In the meantime, thanks for the info Akizuki-san."

"It's no problem," Ritsuko replied, "Anyway, how about we go over to 2-A's classroom? They're having a welcoming party for Springfield-sensei and their Class Representative, Ayaka Yukihiro-san, invited the few of us that weren't busy, and she asked us to bring you along if we found you."

"…I guess it's not a problem." Akuro decided, though a part of him was a bit worried about Negi, if his experience with 2-A was anything to go by.

"Okay then, we'll meet up with the others first." Ritsuko declared, sounding business-like all of a sudden. She walked off, prompting Akuro to follow her, a bit surprised by her sudden change in attitude.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – entrance hall_

Ritsuko led Akuro back to the entrance, where four other girls were waiting. One of them, who had short black hair and grey eyes, noticed their approach and called out, "Hey Ritsuko, I see that you found Sakuragi-sensei!"

"Yes, I found Sakuragi-sensei coming out of the Dean's office Makoto." Ritsuko replied.

Akuro looked at each of the other four girls, two of which were the twins in his class and he tried to remember their names, and found himself subconsciously reaching for the roster in his book bag. The girls noticed this and the girl with the short black hair introduced herself, "I guess you still haven't remembered all of our names yet sensei. That's alright; I'm Makoto Kikuchi, it's nice to meet'cha."

The second girl, who had long, blue hair and reddish violet eyes, went next, "Hello, I'm Azusa Miura, and it's a pleasure to meet you Sakuragi-sensei."

Azusa gave a bow, and Akuro could feel a big sister-type aura come from her as the twins went next. Both were identical and would've been impossible to tell them apart, with their shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, except that one tied a part of her hair to the left, while the other tied her hair to the right. The twin whose hair was to the right introduced herself, "I'm Ami, the older sister!"

Her sister went next, "I'm Mami, the younger sister!"

"We're Ami and Mami Futami!" The twins spoke together, "It's nice to meet you Sakuragi-sensei!"

"It's nice to meet all of you too girls," Akuro looked around to see if there was anyone else, "This is all of us, right?"

"Yes, everyone else is busy with club activities," Ritsuko replied, "I'm sure that some of them are even covering for others…"

Everyone could tell about the hidden meaning under that as they walked together towards 2-A's classroom. In the meantime, the girls started asking him a number of questions about him, similar to what Kazumi did, but the questions were more reserved in nature, something that Akuro was mentally thankful for.

* * *

_2-A Classroom_

By the time Akuro and the girls reached the classroom, the party was already in full swing and they heard the girls partying. That was until they saw Takamichi and Shizuna approach with Takamichi greeting them, "Hello Akuro-kun, girls, you're all here for the party?"

"Yeah, apparently we were invited." Akuro told them, looking at Ritsuko for confirmation, in which she nodded.

Takamichi smiled and held a hand out, "Well then, shall we join the festivities?"

"That's sounds so old…" Akuro commented as he opened the door, earning a few giggles from some of the females, while Takamichi just smirked.

Half of the girls of 2-A turned around when Akuro opened the door, and when they saw Akuro and the others enter, they ran up to him to greet him and the others. Ayaka was the one to greet them first, "Ah, Sakuragi-sensei, I'm glad to see that you could make it, along with Akizuki-san and the others that are able to come."

"Heard that this was a welcoming party for Negi and decided to check it out, since you invited us." Akuro replied. The rest of the girls had already assimilated themselves into the party, and were talking with the others. That gave the chance for Akuro to follow Takamichi and Shizuna over to Negi after finishing his greeting with Ayaka.

However, Takamichi and Shizuna went over to the drinks table, meaning that Akuro reached Negi first, "Hey Negi, nice party you have here."

"Ah Akuro, you were invited too?" Negi asked innocently. Before Akuro could reply, Nodoka went up to Negi, though she looked nervous at the sight of Akuro. However, she managed to call out to him, "Um, Negi-sensei…"

"Oh, number twenty-seven, Miyazaki-san, the library monitor, right?" Negi turned his attention to the girl, while Akuro was handed a cup by Azusa, who had just finished talking with Chizuru Naba and Natsumi Murakami.

Giving a nod, Nodoka went on, "Um…about that incident earlier…you saved me…um, uh…"

'Incident?' Akuro wondered as Azusa went back to the refreshments table for another cup. He watched as Nodoka gave a book to Negi as a token of her thanks, prompting Ayaka to give her own gift to Negi, "Sensei! I also have something for you…it's a souvenir."

"Waah! A bronze bust of Sensei!" Half of 2-A shouted that out as Ayaka unveiled the bronze bust to everyone, "I'm sorry that I don't have anything for you at the moment Sakuragi-sensei…"

"Nah, it's alright, um, Yukihiro-san…" Akuro tipped his cup towards her as he drunk, 'That's just plain disturbing… glad I'm not Negi.'

As Asuna and Ayaka started fighting again, Ritsuko, Makoto, Azusa, Ami, and Mami got together as Azusa commented on the fight, "My, some things don't change, do they?"

"It's practically legendary, those two." Ritsuko added.

"What do you mean?" Akuro asked, looking a bit confused.

"The fights between Kagurazaka-san and Yukihiro-san are pretty much common knowledge among us middle schoolers Sakuragi-sensei!" Ami replied. Mami added, "Actually, stories have been told everywhere and almost every student from elementary to high school knows about them."

"…You can't be serious." Akuro found that to be a bit ridiculous, but Makoto assured him, "I heard that one time those two fought, they caused so much of a ruckus that they accidentally toppled a tree by accident."

"Hey, I heard that one too!" Sakurako Shiina said, as she and her two friends, Misa Kakizaki and Madoka Kugimiya walked up to the group.

"I heard that the tree hit a car when it toppled." Misa added.

"Eh? I heard that it crashed on a truck though." Madoka countered.

Before the conversation went on, Ayaka went up to them, having the fight with Asuna called off due to her noticing Takamichi. She quickly cleared things up, "For the last time you three, a tree did not fall over! Asuna punched a tree trying to hit me and a branch broke off! You were there Akizuki-san, isn't that the truth?"

"It's true," Ritsuko confirmed, "As well as the branch hitting the windshield of the car that was parked beside it."

Akuro couldn't help but smirk as Ayaka cringed at the thought as she walked away in shame. The cheerleader trio walked away too, but not before introducing themselves to Akuro. He noticed that Madoka and Makoto seemed friendly with each other, but they didn't say much to each other before they parted. That's when Mami pointed out, "Hey, what's Springfield-sensei doing?"

"Huh?" Akuro looked over to see Negi talking to Takamichi, while putting his hand to the older man's forehead. That act confused Akuro for a moment before he quickly darted over to Asuna.

As the boy mage did it a few times, Akuro remembered that Negi had a bit of skill in telepathy, but it required direct contact since he wasn't skilled at it just yet. That's when he heard Ami say, "Maybe he's checking Takahata-sensei's temperature?"

"Probably…" Akuro mused. He watched as Asuna ran out of the classroom with Negi chasing after her. Stretching, Akuro turned to his students, "I think I'll call it in early, I'm not much for parties right now."

The girls nodded and Akuro went over to pick up his things that he had left at the foot of the blackboard. He was about to leave when he remembered something and went back over to the girls, "Sorry, but can you girls show me where the middle school dorms are? I have to check something out, Dean's request."

"Sure, we can show you the way." Ritsuko replied, with the other girls nodding as well.

The girls lead the way out, with Akuro behind them, but not before saying to Ayaka who was about to walk out too after seeing Negi run out, that he had a few things to attend to and thanked her again for the invitation. Little did he realize, or that he did and didn't care, was that Setsuna was eyeing him every now and again from the wall she was leaning on as she took a sip from her cup. Mana Tatsumiya went over to her asking, "Something wrong?"

"…No, nothing's wrong." Setsuna muttered as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath after Akuro left the room.

Mana just nodded and walked over to another part of the room, leaving Setsuna to her thoughts. The Shinmei-ryu girl couldn't help but think, 'He feels familiar for some reason…is there something that I'm missing…?'

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Dorms_

When Akuro and the girls reached the dorms, everyone except Ritsuko said goodbye to Akuro as they went inside the main building. Seeing that the girls were inside, Ritsuko turned to Akuro asking, "So, is there anything else you need Sakuragi-sensei?"

Looking around, Akuro nodded, "Yes there is… Do you know where the nearby cabin is? I don't see it from here…"

"Oh, that old thing? It's right behind the building." Ritsuko pointed in the direction that went through the dorms.

"Ah okay…" Akuro nodded. Ritsuko wondered what Akuro wanted with the cabin when a voice called out to them, "Ritsuko-iincho, Sakuragi-sensei!"

The two turned to see Haruka, Chihaya, and Yukiho together, along with two others Yayoi Takatsuki and Iori Minase. Yayoi, who had reddish brown hair that was tied in two short wavy ponytails at the back and having bluish green eyes, and Iori, who had straight, long brown hair with a hair band holding back her bangs and having eyes that matched her hair, were behind the three as they went up to Akuro.

"Hey there everyone, club activities finished?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yes, we all finished at the same time," Chihaya replied, as Yukiho hid a bit behind Haruka when she saw Akuro, "By the way, what brings you here Sakuragi-sensei? Did something happen?"

"No, I'm just here for the cabin behind the dorms." Akuro told the girls.

"Eh, that old thing?" Iori asked with a hint of disgust on her face, "You're not planning on moving into that or anything are you sensei? It's in pretty bad shape after being abandoned for like, ten years?"

"It's been fixed up," Akuro informed them, and that's when Yayoi added, "Hmm, that would explain the case that was left here earlier. It's yours, isn't it Sakuragi-sensei?"

"Uh huh, my things are in there." Akuro looked at his watch, checking the time as Haruka suddenly asked, "Hey, if it's really fixed, do you mind if we check it out Sakuragi-sensei?"

Akuro thought about it for a few seconds, "Hmm, I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

The girls followed Akuro until they were in front of the cabin, which was right next to the dorms from behind, and to the surprise of the girls, it no longer looked run down from when they probably last saw it. In the front was a large wooden chest with a metal lock, and Akuro went right over to it with the girls behind him looking at the cabin curiously. He commented, "Looks like the place's been fixed up real good, if your expressions say anything about it."

"No kidding," Ritsuko said, "The last time I saw this place, the roof looked like it was going to collapse upon itself."

"I know for a fact that this cabin wasn't like this near the end of December," Iori commented as she inspected the sides, "There's no way that the cabin could've been fixed up this good without anyone noticing!"

'Not when you use magic to speed things along…' Akuro thought to himself. He fished out the two keys from his pocket and handed the cabin key to Haruka, who was closest to her, "Why don't you open up and see what's inside…Haruka Amami-san, right?"

"Okay Sakuragi-sensei," Haruka accepted the key from Akuro, "And you got my name right sensei."

Haruka went up to the door and started opening it, prompting the others to gather up behind her. Chihaya, Yayoi, and Iori all introduced themselves to Akuro properly, and Yukiho shyly, or was it nervously, introduced herself before darting into the cabin after Haruka opened the door. Akuro couldn't help but feel that Yukiho's behavior was similar to Nodoka's but he brushed the thought aside as he fiddled with the lock on the chest in front of him.

Hearing the girls comment on how new the place looked, Akuro finally got the chest open and flipping the lid, he found the rest of his things inside, just as he heard Haruka commented, "Wow, it's like this place was magically fixed!"

Chuckling at that, Akuro dragged the chest in as the girls gathered together in the center of the cabin. Akuro looked and saw that it was quite homely and brand new, with the ground floor containing the living room and kitchen and a flight of stairs that led to the second floor from his line of sight. The girls gathered together and Ritsuko asked, "Do you need help unpacking sensei?"

"…No, I'll be fine ladies." Akuro quickly replied, 'Especially since I have a few things that aren't meant for normal people to see…'

"Okay, I guess we'll leave you to your unpacking." Ritsuko said, "We'll see you later Sakuragi-sensei."

The rest of the girls said their goodbyes and left the cabin, leaving Akuro to unpack himself. As he put his bags down and inspected the cabin, he couldn't help but think, 'Why did the Dean put Negi to live with Asuna and Konoka? Maybe it's because he can trust Konoka to look after Negi or something…'

* * *

**Note: I'll mention the four series next chapter, but I'm sure that you all probably figured out the four series. Even if you don't know some, googling helps; I know that it did for me when I started reading ****Springfield, PhD: A Different Paradigm**** by ****James Ray Edwards****. Look up a few characters and boom, I find out about the Seven Stakes of Purgatory and become a character fan of them after looking around.**

**Oh, and the reason I'm using Akuro Sakuragi as the main character teacher for this story. Simply put, I don't exactly have the brainpower to think up of anymore OCs. The only reason Kanako exists is that I wanted to experiment with a black and white idea using Konoka, and that will definitely be explained in later chapters. It's the reason 2-D only has twenty-seven students and if I added another series, it would probably end up as thirty-six students or something, one that I can't handle. Anyway, the basic template for Akuro will be the same, a Shinmei-ryu/Western Mage hybrid, but a few things will be changed that I really need to think about. I'll also be using other SCS elements in much later chapters, but I assure you, Project Class D and Second Childhood Sword will be very different stories.**

**Okay, that's it for now, and gosh, this is the first time I had notes both at the beginning and end of a chapter, let alone a story. Review if you want, I'm not that picky about them like other authors, but I do appreciate feedback.**


	2. Magical Mishap

Chapter 2 – Magical Mishap

_January 7, 2003_

_Mahora Academy __–__ Akuro__'__s cabin_

Having settled in and unpacked most of his stuff last night, Akuro got up early in the morning from the couch that he slept on. For a moment, he looked disoriented as he sat up and looked at his surroundings, until his memories rebooted themselves and they reminded him where he was, 'That's right, I'm a new teacher here at Mahora…'

Getting up, Akuro wobbled around a bit that he nearly tripped over one of his bags as he moved around awkwardly. Apparently, jet lag still resided within Akuro as he cursed it, 'Ugh, I hate jet lag. I wonder how Negi's taking it…'

What he didn't know was that Negi had found himself a Nekane substitute in the form of Asuna to sleep with, and it apparently has the magical ability to wash away jet lag from a person. Too bad the feeling wasn't mutual for Akuro, who finally tripped over another bag on his way to the kitchen. The pain however, finally snapped him wide awake as he groaned getting up, "Argh, gotta make breakfast…"

After eating, Akuro got dressed before heading out, picking up his book bag and two nodachis since he was heading straight for the academy after taking a look around. Opening the door, a blast of chilly wind greeted his face, causing him to look away before it subsided, and taking in the dark landscape ahead, since the sun wasn't even up yet.

'Brrrr, a bit chilly, but still warmer than usual at this time of the year…' Akuro thought to himself as he set out to explore the surroundings.

As he looked around the area surrounding the dormitories, Akuro thought of getting Negi, but realized that he was inside the dorms themselves and had no clue what room he was in. A part of him in the very back of his mind suggested a stakeout, but his discipline quickly reaffirmed control and dismissed the thought as he walked around.

It took a while, but by the time Akuro wound up back near the dorms, it was a bit before seven according to his mini-watch that he kept in his pocket. Stretching, he couldn't help but comment, "This is quite a big campus…"

Deciding to head for the academy building, Akuro was about to leave when he heard sudden barking and a voice shouting, "Oi! Get back here Inumi!"

Spinning around towards the source, Akuro found himself surprised when a little dog came up to him and started sniffing him around his feet, a leash connected to the collar. Hearing footsteps running towards him, he looked up to see a student with long black hair tied up in a ponytail that fanned out, along with aqua blue eyes. One notable thing was that her skin had a light tan, despite it being January, and wearing a winter coat over what Akuro figured was her uniform, if the skirt was anything to go by. She looked at him and was slightly surprised when she appeared that she recognized him, "Ah, you're Sakuragi-sensei! I wasn't expecting you to be up so early!"

"You're…Hibiki Ganaha-san…right?" Akuro had to scrounge his memory of the roster and hoped that he got the name right.

"Yup, that's me!" Hibiki nodded as she looked down at the dog, which was still sniffing around Akuro's legs excitedly. She picked him up saying, "Bad dog Inumi! You know you shouldn't run off like that!"

Inumi just barked energetically and Hibiki sighed as she turned to Akuro, "So sensei, enjoying the sights while the sun rises?"

"Nah, just getting a feel for the area," Akuro replied, "Don't want to get lost and wind up somewhere where I shouldn't be."

"Hahaha…must be tough being a new teacher, eh?" Hibiki smirked, and Akuro sighed, "You've got that right. Anyway, what are you doing out here Ganaha-san? Taking out your dog for a quick walk before school starts?"

Hibiki gave a nod as she put down Inumi on the ground, holding onto the dog's leash tightly, "Yes, I do this every morning with Inumi. It helps to wake up early in the morning, especially when you have someone licking your face every morning."

Both of them laughed lightly as Akuro nodded, "I guess that's true…"

That's when Hibiki noticed something about Akuro and pointed it out, "Hey Sakuragi-sensei, aren't you supposed to be wearing glasses?"

Biting his lip, Akuro knew that no one would probably see him when he first woke up in the morning, and went outside without the glasses. Also, he found them a bit uncomfortable as he wasn't used to them, which was another reason he left them off. He quickly came up with an explanation on the fly that he hoped that she would buy, "My eyesight's been a bit weird ever since I was young, though generally I need to wear glasses when I have to read something. My sight's generally farsighted, but it tends to bug out occasionally."

The explanation completely flew over Hibiki's head, that all she could do was nod, "Okay, I guess…"

Looking at her own watch on her arm, Hibiki saw the time, "Oh, I need to go wake up Miki and Takane now, so I'll see you later in class Sakuragi-sensei. It's especially hard to wake up Miki around this time too…"

"Alright, see you later Ganaha-san." Akuro gave a wave as he watched Hibiki run back into the dorms with Inumi running right beside her. He looked one more time at his watch before walking off in the direction of the academy's main building.

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ 2-D classroom_

The girls that arrived early were surprised to find that Akuro was already in, reading a book at the podium, glasses on. They greeted him politely, and he returned them, still a bit wary of him since he was new and slightly older than them. If it was Negi, then they would probably be friendlier since he was only ten, but now the girls were only acting a bit shy towards him since he's new and not used to them yet.

The time past and the class slowly started to fill up; though Akuro ignored them as he continued to read the book he had in his hands. Some of the girls talked to each other, though most of them gave occasional glances at Akuro, most of them still curious. He was quite sure that the news that he was staying in the cabin beside the dorms would've reached all the ears of 2-D, but he wasn't quite certain.

The time passed, and soon it was almost time to start classes, and from the number of students he counted, only three were missing; Haruka, Yukiho, and Yayoi. It was getting dangerously close to starting homeroom when the doors opened and both Yukiho and Yayoi ran through it panting, with Yayoi saying, "Made it on time!"

Akuro looked at them before turning to the roster that he had on the podium open to him, something that he took out a few minutes earlier, "I see that you two made it, but where's Amami-san?"

Yukiho froze up for a second hearing Akuro's voice, while Yayoi was the one to respond, "She's coming, she was right behind us."

"Wait for me!" Haruka's shout came from the hallways. Yukiho and Yayoi quickly made their way to their seats as Haruka came in, promptly tripping and fell flat on her face.

Akuro quickly went over to her side as Haruka's classmates looked over to see if she was alright. Haruka picked herself up as Akuro went over and held out a hand towards her, "You okay Amami-san?"

Haruka looked up at Akuro's concerned face and couldn't help but produce a light blush before taking his hand, and being helped up by him, "I-I'm alright Sakuragi-sensei. It happens all the time, so it's no big deal."

"…If you say so…" Akuro looked at Haruka with skepticism, and it seemed to show in his voice. It was dismissed as Haruka quickly made her way to her seat, when suddenly Akuro asked, "Does that tripping thing happen often Amami-san?"

"Eh?" Haruka looked confused by that sudden question, when Yayoi decided to respond to it, "It always happens at least once a day Sakuragi-sensei!"

The rest of the class nodded in agreement, something that made Haruka feel embarrassed as she took her seat. Akuro raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about that, instead focusing on starting class.

Halfway through class, Akuro was teaching when he started to hear a commotion coming from next door again and it made him wonder what the heck was going on. He put down the textbook in his hands and headed out the door, "I'm going to step out for a few minutes, okay ladies?"

"Okay Sakuragi-sensei." The girls replied in unison as they started talking to each other before Akuro left the classroom.

Wondering what Negi was doing, Akuro opened the door to 2-A's classroom, "Hey, what's going on-?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone turned to Akuro's presence, as the older teacher was treated to the sight of Asuna in her undergarments in front of the classroom. Negi looked at Akuro with shock, as Asuna's look of embarrassment deepened as she wished that she'd vanish right there and now. Akuro blushed at the sight politely excused himself, "I think I'll come back later…"

Closing the door, Akuro headed back to this class, and when he reentered, they noticed the blush that was on his face. That made Yui ask, "What happened Sakuragi-sensei?"

"…It's nothing, just a minor disturbance from next door." Akuro wiped the blush off his face and continued teaching like nothing ever happened, while things went a bit crazy next door.

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ campus_

During the lunch period, Akuro was wandering around the main building's perimeter looking for Negi, since he wondered what happened earlier. A scantily clad Asuna was still fresh in his mind, though he pushed the image to the back of his mind as he searched for the boy mage. That's when he saw a flustered Nodoka run by followed by Yue and Haruna, something that made him wonder until he saw Negi up ahead looking down in the dumps.

"Hey Negi, what's the matter?" Akuro called out to Negi, at the same time something fell out of Negi's bag and hit the ground.

Negi didn't notice as he looked up at Akuro with a smile, before returning to his depressed behavior, "Hi Akuro…"

Seeing the vial containing seven little spheres lying on the ground, Akuro picked it up while asking, "What happened earlier today? The last thing I expected to see was a scantily clad…Kagurazaka-san in your class."

"Uuuh, what do I do Akuro? I made Asuna-san mad at me and I don't know how to make it up to her!" Negi cried out, looking desperate for an answer.

Looking at Negi, Akuro eyed the vial out of the corner of his eye, "What that heck did you do to her? Wait, does this have something to do with what I saw earlier?"

All Negi did was nod and the boy looked like he wanted to bury himself. Akuro kept on looking at the vial and finally asked, "By the way Negi, what is this thing? I don't recognize it."

"Huh?" Negi looked up and eyed the vial in Akuro's hand. Instantly he jumped up and grabbed it out of Akuro's hands so quickly that he was a bit surprised at how fast Negi reacted, "T-this is…! This is the set of Seven Colored Magic Pills that grandfather gave me all those years ago!"

Raising an eyebrow, Akuro continued to listen to Negi, "If I have these, maybe I really can make that love potion! Sis must have slipped it into my bag, all right!"

'Love potion? What the heck would Negi want to make that for?' The situation was starting to get weird, and Akuro smelled a situation going on. That's when he heard Negi mumble, "I don't think it's enough for her to forgive me…but this is all I really can do…"

"Negi…?" Akuro wondered about the 'her' part, and knew that he needed to figure out what the heck was going on. Negi, on his part, wasn't thinking logically at the moment and turned to Akuro, "Akuro, I need you to keep a lookout for me while I prepare the potion, please?"

"Uh…okay…" Akuro was led to a small clearing in the trees, where Negi set up a small beaker and started making the love potion.

"Ras tel Ma Scir Magister, age nascatur potio amoris!"

There was a light explosion before things calmed down. Both mages looked at the beaker, and Negi picked it up gently as he looked at it with surprise, "I've…I've done it!"

Putting a cork on beaker, Negi quickly packed everything up and ran off before Akuro could say anything, "This will make anyone popular with the opposite sex! Asuna-san will be overjoyed!"

"Asuna-san…?" Akuro was finding everything to be weird and now wanted a very good explanation for everything, 'Jeez, we were only here for what, a day and a half now? And already it sounds like Negi got busted…'

Sighing to himself, Akuro headed back towards the academy so he could prepare for his next class, 'I think a small talk with Negi is in order later. I really need to know what's going on around here!'

* * *

_2-A Classroom_

Negi had entered the classroom finding an angry Asuna, and though he tried to give the potion to her, Negi ended up drinking the whole thing. Even though it had no effect on Asuna due to her ability, soon enough, the other girls in 2-A started falling under the effect of the potion. If that wasn't bad enough, a few 2-D girls walked in, looking for Negi so they could ask a question. They were, Kureha Akabane, who had long, bluish purple hair and matching eyes, and Elis Shihou, who had short purple hair that framed her face at the front, along with dull green eyes.

The two 2-D students entered with Kureha asking, "Excuse me Springfield-sensei, but we-." The question never came around as both Kureha and Elis fell under the effects of the potion too, and they were currently cuddling him and calling him cute among other things.

Somehow, Negi broke free and ran away, with the girls hot on his heels, leaving behind a bewildered Asuna who put Ayaka out of her misery. A moment later, Akuro showed up, finding the scene and Asuna tried to make up an excuse, "Oh Sakuragi-sensei, this is, um, Iincho walked into the wall and fell unconscious, um…"

"…Right…" Akuro had a hard time believing that as Asuna made Ayaka more comfortable leaning against the wall in the classroom, "Anyway, where's Negi?"

As Asuna didn't know that Akuro was a mage like Negi, among other things, she had a hard time thinking up a response that didn't involve mentioning magic, "He, um, ran off because some of the girls got, uh, energetic about his presence?"

There was a moment of silence, before Akuro gave a sigh, something that Asuna took as him buying her explanation. He looked around and asked, "Which way did he go?"

"He went that way!" Asuna pointed in the direction Negi ran off in, "I'm coming too, just in case, um, he's hurt or something."

All Akuro did was nod, and the two of them ran off together, following the cries of 'Negi-sensei!' and other various sounds. In the back of his mind, Akuro was pretty sure that Asuna knew of Negi's mage identity, but he needed to be sure by talking to him first.

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ middle school library_

Meanwhile, Nodoka led Negi to the middle school library in order to escape the love crazy girls that were chasing them. However, they thought they were alone when they heard an 'Eep!' when Nodoka closed the door. They looked around and found Yukiho in front of one of the bookshelves, with a book at her feet. Apparently, she got spooked when Negi and Nodoka suddenly entered the room. Seeing who it was, she quickly picked up the book that she dropped while saying, "Oh, it's just you Miyazaki-san…"

"Ah, hello Hagiwara-san." Nodoka greeted with a small bow. That's when they both looked at Negi, and they slowly started to fall under the effect of the love potion emanating from him, though oddly enough, it was a slow gradual process for them, that they didn't work on them first.

As Negi and Nodoka walked around the library, Yukiho watched them from behind bookshelves, a weird feeling forming up in her chest. She wondered what was going on, since she never felt this way before, and her curiosity made her follow them, closing the distance with each step.

All of a sudden, Negi looked past Nodoka and right at Yukiho, and she gave another 'Eep!' and ran to hide behind one of the shelves. Nodoka frowned at Yukiho's behavior, since she's never seen her act that way, even if they only see each other occasionally; both she and Yue are in the Children's Literature Research Society so they see each other from time to time. It's kind of scary how the two are a bit alike, if only just a bit, their friends commented once.

That's when Negi started running away from Nodoka when she tried to get close, and ran around the library when he saw her chasing him. Unfortunately he wasn't watching where he was going and ran into Yukiho, with the two of them crashing down to the ground, spilling a few books.

Negi landed on top of Yukiho and the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Yukiho sporting a blush on her face. Negi had one too when Yukiho cupped Negi's cheek in a fascinating manner, "Springfield-sensei…you look really cute, you know that?"

"W-what?" Negi looked alarmed as Yukiho suddenly got closer, when suddenly, Nodoka was on top of Negi, lying on his back. That essentially put Negi in a spot most guys would kill to be in, but this is a ten year old we're talking about, and a teacher to boot, so naturally he'd be in a panicking bind. Yukiho had a curious look on her face when she saw Nodoka as Negi turned to Nodoka and asked, "Um…Miyazaki-san…p-please get off of me…"

"O-okay…" Despite saying that, Nodoka just got closer, with Negi pressed against Yukiho's chest. He started squirming around trying to get free, but being pinned down by Nodoka made him careful, since he didn't want to accidentally hurt either of the girls trying to escape.

However, Nodoka was getting closer and Negi tried reasoning with her, "Mi-Miyazaki-san, we can't! A teacher and student shouldn't do things like this! Sis says that…"

"Y-yes…" Nodoka interrupted Negi, "…That's right, isn't it?"

Negi was freaking out when his head suddenly turned, Yukiho had a hand on his cheek, and Negi saw that her eyes looked a bit glazed as she too leaned in for a kiss. Suddenly he heard a shout on the other side of the door, who he recognized as Akuro's, "Hey Negi, you in there?"

"No time for that!" Asuna shouted.

"Wait, what-?" Suddenly the library doors blew off their hinges, one of them nearly hitting Nodoka, but the force of the flying door hit her and she rolled off of Negi, fainting. The door itself actually hit the shelf above where the three were, and when Negi rolled off of Yukiho, a few books fell and hit her on the head, knocking her unconscious too.

Asuna looked in and when he saw Negi on the floor, with Nodoka and Yukiho unconscious, she went over to check on both of them as she muttered, "Sheesh, you're nothing but trouble!"

"…Sure seems to be the case." Akuro made his appearance, looking at the broken doors with worry. He then looked at Negi and the two unconscious students, recognizing Yukiho, "Oh boy, let's get them to the infirmary Kagurazaka-san."

"Right Sakuragi-sensei." Asuna went over to pick Nodoka up, while Akuro cleared the books away from Yukiho's face. Negi thanked Asuna when Akuro went over and whispered, "We need to talk later Negi. After school, meet me in front of the cabin behind the dorms."

All Negi did was nod as Akuro picked up Yukiho gently, and the three left the library, but not before Akuro asked, "Um, should we call someone to clean that up?"

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ Akuro__'__s cabin_

Later, Negi, Asuna, and Konoka showed up at Akuro's cabin, though the two students were surprised to find that the cabin was in prime condition. Asuna eyed it, "So it is true, this old place was fixed up…"

Negi went up to the cabin front and sat down on the steps, "I'll wait here Asuna-san, Konoka-san. I'm sure Akuro won't take long."

"You know, I've been wondering," Asuna started, "What's your connection to Sakuragi-sensei? You two act quite friendly with each other."

"Oh! Um, we've known each other for about four years, and we've attended Oxford together." Negi replied, though he looked a bit reluctant to give anymore information. Asuna looked at Negi suspiciously, while Konoka looked at the cabin curiously.

A few minutes passed before Akuro arrived, "Hey Negi, sorry I'm late; had to file a few things…"

"It's alright." Negi replied happily. Asuna and Konoka left already, so Akuro just missed them. He took out the key to the cabin and opened the door, "C'mon in Negi, just don't mind the mess. I haven't finished sorting things out yet."

When Negi entered the cabin, he looked around curiously and with a bit of excitement. He could see that there were various things here and there, though overall, settling in only looked partially done. After the two settled in, Akuro led Negi to a couple of chairs and they sat down, Akuro looking at Negi, though the boy mage swore that the older teenager was giving him a full piercing body scan for some reason.

"I better get us something warm to drink first, before we talk." Akuro got up and prepared hot chocolate, and after giving a cup to Negi, the two drank before Akuro got straight to the point, "So, before anything else, I need to ask; you got exposed as a mage to someone, didn't you?"

Negi looked like he was squirming, but with Akuro's calm attitude, he told him the truth, though reluctantly, "Yes…"

"And I take it that this person is Kagurazaka-san, right? I heard you say her name before you ran off with the love potion." Akuro prodded on.

"Yes…" Negi looked dejected and ashamed like he had just broken under interrogation. Akuro couldn't help but cough, faking a laugh until he asked one more question, "She only knows that you're a mage, right? She doesn't know anything about me or anything else, right?"

"Yes, she only knows that I'm a mage…" Negi replied.

Giving a sigh of relief, Negi was confused with Akuro's expression and he noticed it, "I'm not mad at you Negi, if that's what you're thinking. Though I would like to know the full story, if you don't mind?"

After Negi told Akuro the whole story from yesterday to now, all the older boy did was sip his chocolate before saying, "Well, at least that explains a lot. You know, I should be surprised by all this, but for some reason, I'm not."

"Uuuh, that's mean Akuro…" Negi whined, but Akuro raised a hand, "Don't worry Negi, as long as no one else finds out, it should be okay. Anyway, don't tell Asuna or anyone else that I'm a mage-in-training too, and I'll do the same for you if I get figured out by a student, okay?"

"Y-yes, of course Akuro!" Negi's attitude changed to a brighter one as Akuro got up and went over to the area where his things were scattered. Most of them were still in his bags as he got lazy while unpacking last night.

Looking over to Negi, Akuro asked, "Hey Negi, could you help me with a few of these things? It would really speed things up."

Negi gave a nod, and with that, he and Akuro spent an hour taking things out and securing anything magic-related, in case of non-magical visitors. After that, Negi had to leave for the dorms, since he wanted to apologize to Asuna for earlier again. As Akuro watched him leave, he couldn't help but think, 'Well, I better be extra careful from now on, especially around 2-A since Kagurazaka-san is in that class…'

* * *

**Note: Okay, before I say anything, Yukiho was acting way OOC due to the love potion; magic can make a person go wacko. Now with that out of the way, I did say that I'll show everyone the four series that I used to make Class D. Instead, here's a list of where each character came from:**

Kureha Akabane (Night Wizard)

Mio Akiyama (K-On)

Ritsuko Akizuki (Idolmaster)

Haruka Amami (Idolmaster)

Ami Futami (Idolmaster)

Mami Futami (Idolmaster)

Hibiki Ganaha (Idolmaster)

Yukiho Hagiwara (Idolmaster)

Ai Hidaka (Idolmaster)

Akari Himuro (Night Wizard)

Yui Hirasawa (K-On)

Miki Hoshi (Idolmaster)

Makoto Kikuchi (Idolmaster)

Chihaya Kisaragi (Idolmaster)

Kanako Konoe (Original Character)

Tsumugi Kotobuki (K-On)

Nodoka Manabe (K-On)

Iori Minase (Idolmaster)

Azusa Miura (Idolmaster)

Eri Mizutani (Idolmaster)

Ran Otonashi (Rosario+Vampire)

Ren Otonashi (Rosario+Vampire)

Rin Otonashi (Rosario+Vampire)

Shihou Elis (Night Wizard)

Takane Shijou (Idolmaster)

Ritsu Tainaka (K-On)

Yayoi Takatsuki (Idolmaster)

**Night Wizard, K-On, Idolmaster, and Rosario+Vampire, the four series I used. K-On****'s a bit of a given, considering I've seen their characters used in other Negima stories, but I really had to look hard though other series, else I'd come up with a very small class. Anyway, if you look up each character, I'm pretty sure you'll find a picture of them, and the Idolmaster girls are using their pre-Idolmaster 2 looks, just to point it out.**

**Oh, one more thing; this story will be using a visual timeline, so anyone reading can tell what day an event takes place on. The Negima timeline is a bit skewered in my opinion, since it looked like Negi arrived in Japan around the start of the third term, which starts around January, but by the time it reaches the Library Island arc, it's implied that only a week or two had passed, and the last exams take place around near the end of March. Believe me when I say that I had to research how the Japanese school years are structure for things to be accurate and believable.**

**Well, that's it for now, and if anyone has a question, give a review or PM. Other then that, see everyone next chapter!**

**P.S.: I'll probably take a look over this chapter and see how it can be improved on a future date.**


	3. Lost and Found

Chapter 3 – Lost and Found

_Mahora Academy __–__ Akuro__'__s cabin_

After Negi left, Akuro continued to sort out his things, though the first thing that he did was hide everything magic-related in case someone decided on a surprise visit later; he upped the secrecy paranoia ever since he learned that Negi got caught on the first day of all things. Now the only thing left that was magic-related was a book of spells that had a title in Latin, though in English it would be called 'The Book of Latin Spells Vol.1', a graduation present that Akuro received from Nekane back in September. He wondered why Nekane gave him this book when he remembered the answer that she gave him when he actually asked back then, 'You look like you need the book more then Negi does, Akuro.'

Picking up the book, Akuro was about to bring it upstairs when the doorbell rang. Hastily stuffing the book into his book bag, Akuro went over to the door and opened it, finding Kureha and Elis standing at the door. Recognizing the girls as two of his students from 2-D, Akuro greeted them, "Hello, um…"

"Kureha Akabane and Elis Shihou." Kureha introduced themselves, pointing to herself and Elis respectively as they bowed to him.

"Right, sorry about that girls. I haven't been able to memorize everyone's names yet." Akuro apologized.

Elis was the one who shook her head saying, "It's alright Sakuragi-sensei, you've been only here for two days so it's only natural."

"Uh huh, so what can I do for you ladies?" Akuro looked at both of them, noticing that they both had an English textbook in their hands.

"We have a few questions regarding English, and we were recommended by Springfield-sensei to come to you, since he was busy with something," Kureha explained, "We did try to ask him at lunch earlier today, but we can't seem to remember what happened though…"

'They must've gotten caught up in the love potion incident, though Akabane-san sounds a bit off for some reason.' Akuro looked at both of them before nodding, "Alright, come on in girls, but please don't mind the mess. I'm still in the process of settling in properly."

Akuro wondered what Negi was doing that Kureha and Elis had to come to him for help in English. Little did he know, the boy mage was currently caught up in a certain bath incident that ended rather painfully for Asuna, but he didn't know that as he helped Kureha and Elis with their English. He found out a bit about the two as he talked with them, like how Kureha worked part-time at Tatsumiya shrine every few days, and how Elis talked about her guardian, Anzelotte Shihou.

Halfway through, there was another ring of the doorbell, and Akuro had to stop halfway through his lecture to answer the door. When he opened it, Akuro found Hibiki standing outside with a smile on her face, along with two others 2-D students. Surprised at their appearance, Akuro greeted, "Ah, Ganaha-san. This is a surprise…"

"Hehe, we heard that someone was actually living here, but I didn't expect it to be you Sakuragi-sensei!" Hibiki had an amused look on her face while her two friends looked at the cabin with amazement.

"Well, why don't you three come in," Akuro invited the three girls inside, while looking at Hibiki's two friends, "The two of you are…Miki Hoshi-san and…Takane Shijou-san, right?"

Miki, who had long, blond hair and green eyes, looked surprised that Akuro got her name right, "Wow, Miki's surprised that you got Miki's name right Sakuragi-sensei!"

"Yes, I didn't think that you would be able to memorize our names on the second day either." Takane said in a smooth voice, her having long, silvery(?) hair and wearing a headband, with her eyes a light violet. Her looks caught Akuro's attention for a second, since both her hair and eye color weren't exactly normal, but he put the thought in the back of his mind as he closed the door.

Entertaining the girls was a bit hard, especially since Hibiki and Miki were being a bit nosy and curious as they looked around the cabin. Takane sat down at the table where Kureha and Elis was sitting at, exchanging polite conversations with each other. After that, Akuro continued teaching, though he had to stop every now and again because Hibiki and Miki tried to sneak upstairs to take a look, and Akuro hadn't put away all the magic-related items properly yet.

'Wouldn't want to get busted in my own home…' Akuro thought to himself.

Soon, the girls left after Kureha and Elis understood Negi's lesson, and they took Miki, Hibiki, and Takane with them. After they left, Akuro couldn't help but slump a bit in relaxation as he thought, 'Whew, that was harder than it looked…'

* * *

_January 8, 2003_

_Mahora Academy __–__ Dormitory_

All was quiet in the middle school dorms this morning, but that was about to be broken. Asuna was in the shower after finishing her paper route, when Negi came by and tried to help her by bewitching her bath items to clean her by themselves. Unfortunately Asuna didn't take that very well and she came out wearing a towel and chasing after Negi shouting, "Get the hell out of here, you jerk!"

Negi screamed for his life, not wanting to be near an angry Asuna that he ran into the first open door that he could see. Too bad he forgot that there were other girls living in the dorm at the moment and an open door usually leads to another occupied room.

Jumping back to just a bit earlier, Haruka woke up with a yawn, before looking down at her roommate Yukiho, who was sleeping on the bottom bunk. Not wanting to wake her up, Haruka got down and started preparing breakfast, as part of her routine every morning. However, she heard shouting and curiosity took over as she went over to the door and opened it to take a look.

Haruka wasn't prepared for what was next as a blur suddenly ran past her, making her trip and fall. She landed with a thud and was a bit disoriented when she heard a door slam shut, and when Haruka got up, she wondered, 'W-what was that all about?'

Thinking that she it must've been a hallucination or something, Haruka was about to close the door when she saw a lump shaking in Yukiho's bed. Forgetting about the door, Haruka went over to Yukiho's bedside and opened the covers. There, beside a still sleeping Yukiho was a cowering Negi, curled up into a ball in fright. Haruka stared at him for a moment before calling out to him, "Um…Springfield-sensei, right? What are you doing?"

Negi snapped out of his scared state and looked up rather carefully, as if expecting a demon Asuna to be right behind Haruka. When that wasn't the case, he sat up timidly saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry for intruding, um, Amami-san?"

"Um, yes, that's my name Springfield-sensei," Haruka looked a bit lost, finding Negi in Yukiho's bed of all places, "Um, what are you doing in here?"

"I, uh, made Asuna-san mad accidentally," That was an understatement, considering what happened, "And, well, she chased me out of the room…"

"I see…Kagurazaka-san huh…?" Haruka managed to put the pieces together before she went over to the kitchen, "You know, since you're here and all, do you want to have breakfast? I was just about to cook something up."

Negi's face brightened up as he nodded, "Yes please!"

Haruka just smiled and she started preparing things to cook. Like Akuro, Haruka and the other 2-D students found Negi interesting, mainly because of the fact that he was a ten year old teaching them English, and he was quite good at it despite only just arriving.

If Haruka paid a bit more attention, she would've realized that Negi was still sitting on Yukiho's bed, and the lack of a blanket was causing her to wake up. She gave a yawn and sat up muttering, "Haruka, why did you remove the blanket…?"

That's when Yukiho saw Negi sitting on her bed, and he turned around, greeting her politely, "Ah, good morning…Hagiwara-san, was it?"

There was a moment of silence as Yukiho stared at Negi and his oh so happy smile, while Haruka continued to prepare breakfast in a Konoka-ish manner. Yukiho's eyes seemed to widen in shock and surprise when she was able to identify Negi properly, which snapped her wide awake and wild thoughts ran through her brain, most likely because there was a boy right beside her this instant.

A boy was on her bed.

A boy…

…

What happened next was the loudest scream ever heard within the dormitories, as it snapped everyone who was still sleeping wide awake, wondering what the heck happened. Interestingly enough, half of 2-D knew that it was Yukiho's voice shouting and they ran to the room in worry, only to find a scandalized-looking Yukiho, and Haruka comforting a shocked Negi. It was a good thing 2-D was able to keep things on the down low, or else the other students, particularly 2-A and their paparazzi and gossip queens, would've had a field day with the situation.

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ 2-D Classroom_

Class just started, though Akuro and his students noticed that there were two people missing: Chihaya Kisaragi and Azusa Miura. Akuro was about to mark them absent when the two in question burst through the door, both of them panting very hard, though Chihaya looked more out of breath then Azusa. Akuro looked at them and calmly asked, "Hello ladies, something happen?"

Chihaya took a deep breath before looking up at Akuro, "No, we just got sidetracked and took a wrong turn Sakuragi-sensei."

"I see…well, might as well sit down Kisaragi-san, Miura-san. The two of you are lucky that I didn't mark down lates or absentees yet." Akuro looked at the two calmly, though he did give a glance towards Yukiho who still looked distressed. He had heard from both Ritsuko and Negi about the incident earlier in the morning, though he wasn't around at the time, having taken a walk. He gave a sigh as Chihaya gave Akuro a nod, while Azusa bowed and gave him a smile before they went to their seats.

As 2-D was working on an assignment that he had handed out, Akuro was busy studying the 2-D guide that Ritsuko gave him, the book open to a particular page. After hearing about the now titled, 'Screaming Terror' incident, he wondered what the heck exactly happened. All Ritsuko said was that half the class only saw the result, and Negi, well, he didn't want to say much, saying something about respect and other things Akuro couldn't understand.

The book itself was opened up to Yukiho's profile, and Akuro read a few interesting things that were written down. One of those was that she's afraid of boys and that her fear was greater than that of Nodoka's, though only by a small gap. Other than that she was also afraid of dogs and had a love for tea, especially making it. Akuro himself didn't like tea very much; he could drink it if he had to, but the only kind of tea he would prefer to drink was ice tea. Staying in a foreign country for a few years can do that to a person.

'Okay, the thing about being scared of boys makes sense, considering how nervous she tends to act around me. Let's see what the others are like…'

The time passed, and soon class ended on a normal note. Akuro sighed and assigned the class homework, and he was about to leave when he saw Kanako's stare on him again. He quickly left the room, but not before thinking, 'I swear, the glasses aren't working as well on her, and it's a matter of time before she remembers me…'

After Akuro left, it let some of the students have some time to talk to each other and both Haruka and Makoto went over to Yukiho's side, with Haruka asking, "Are you alright Yukiho?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine Haruka." Yukiho still looked a bit shaken up, but other than that, she really was okay.

"That was a pretty loud scream though. Much more effective than an alarm clock." Makoto joked.

"Please don't say something like that Makoto," Yukiho looked uncomfortable hearing that, "I need to apologize to Springfield-sensei for this morning though…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure that he understands Yukiho." Makoto assured her, with Haruka nodding in agreement, "Yeah, and he did apologize for startling you this morning Yukiho, so I'm sure that it isn't necessary."

Before Yukiho could say anything more, the door opened and their next teacher came in. Everyone returned to their seats as class started, though Yukiho was a bit distracted, thinking of how she should apologize to Negi.

* * *

_January 9, 2003_

The next day started off well enough, though Akuro noticed that Chihaya and Azusa were missing again. This was the second time that it happened and he started to wonder if it was a coincidence that it happened again. The time passed and class was about to start and Akuro expected Chihaya and Azusa to burst into the room like last time, when Chihaya suddenly burst into the class by herself, startling everyone, breathing very deeply like she ran a marathon.

Wondering what was going on, Akuro was about to go up to her when she ran up to him saying, "Sensei, please help me find Azusa-san. We got separated on our way to school and I can't find her by myself."

A look of puzzlement was on Akuro's face for a second before he nodded, "Alright Kisaragi-san," He turned to the class, "This is a self study period until I get back, okay?"

"Hai Sakuragi-sensei." The class shouted back and Akuro held a hand out, "Please lead the way Kisaragi-san."

Chihaya just nodded and the two of them rushed out of the room. Quickly walking down the hall, Akuro asked, "What happened Kisaragi-san?'

"We were just walking from the train station when Azusa-san just disappeared on me during the rush. I tried looking for her, but she has a bad sense of direction and tends to wander from place to place, making it hard to find her." Chihaya explained.

Akuro looked at her, "Miura-san has a bad sense of direction? Never expected that from her…"

"Yes, and I'm a bit worried that she might get into trouble or something." Chihaya started to look a bit distressed as she and Akuro cleared the front doors.

Outside, Chihaya and Akuro stopped at the bottom of the steps with Chihaya looking around, "Where do we start looking?"

Both of them thought about it for a moment when a thought came to Akuro, "…Hey, does Miura-san have a cellphone on her? Did you try calling her?"

Chihaya froze for a moment in thought before she slapped her forehead, "Yes, she does actually. I can't believe I forgot about that…"

Akuro stayed silent as Chihaya took out her cell and dialed Azusa's number. A moment passed before Chihaya said, "Azusa-san? Thank goodness, where are you right now?"

A moment of silence passed before Chihaya spoke again, "I see, you're there? Please don't move, Sakuragi-sensei and I will pick you up. Bye."

Hanging up, Chihaya turned to Akuro and said, "Azusa-san's in the shopping district. She's waiting by the cake shop."

"That's a bit far from here," Akuro mused as he and Chihaya started heading towards the shopping district. As they ran, Akuro suddenly said, "You know Kisaragi-san, I'm going to have to mark the both of you as late for this, just to let you know."

There was a moment of silence before Chihaya reluctantly replied, "…Of course sensei."

* * *

_Mahora __–__ Shopping District_

By the time Akuro and Chihaya reached the shopping district, it was already past homeroom and Akuro looked at Chihaya, "Do you know where this cake shop is? I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the area."

"Yes I do," Chihaya pointed in a certain direction, "It's that way, Haruka-san tends to go there, and she sometimes brings Azusa-san and I along with a few others."

Akuro gave a nod and he followed Chihaya to the cake shop, while taking in the sights in order to familiarize with the area. Eventually, Chihaya led him to the front of the cake shop, where they saw Azusa waiting outside patiently, her bag in her hands. Chihaya called out to her, "Azusa-san, we're here!"

"Ah Chihaya, I'm sorry again. I saw something interesting and just had to take a look." Azusa calmly explained as she walked over to Chihaya and Akuro, "Ah, Sakuragi-sensei, I'm sorry about all this."

"Uh, it's alright, as long as you're okay Miura-san." Akuro looked puzzled at Azusa's attitude, but shook it off as he nodded towards the direction of the school building, "Let's just head back to class now, alright?"

As the three headed back to the school, Azusa suddenly asked, "Are you going to mark us late sensei?"

"Unfortunately, I have too Miura-san, regardless of the circumstances, unless you were getting kidnapped or something." Akuro casually replied.

There was a moment of silence before Akuro jumped at the sound of Azusa lightly screaming, "Ah, help me sensei! Chihaya's attempting to kidnap me!"

"A-Azusa-san!" Chihaya sounded scandalized, as Azusa latched herself on to her. Akuro didn't bother looking around as he said, "Alright ladies, let's just head to class. Oh, and by the way Miura-san, I would've been half-convinced if you didn't sound so playful."

"Ara, I guess I'll have to step up on my acting skills then." Azusa giggled, while Chihaya just sighed, hiding a small smile.

* * *

_Mahora Academy __–__ Staff Room_

After classes, Akuro and Negi were going through a number of papers, though Akuro looked frustrated, "Why did the scroll tell me to be a teacher again? Heck, being a bodyguard's better than this!"

"I'm sure that you'll get the hang of it eventually Akuro." Negi assured him, going through his own work like he's been doing it for months.

Akuro couldn't help but look at Negi with a hint of disbelief when a voice behind him asked, "Um, excuse me, but are you Akuro Sakuragi-sensei of 2-D?"

"Uh, yeah I am," Akuro turned around in his seat, only to be looking up at a woman who had long brown hair and light brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. Wearing a beige sweater and work skirt with a belt, Akuro thought he felt a librarian's aura coming from her, "And you are…?"

"Oh, I'm Sawako Yamanaka, 2-D's previous homeroom teacher." Sawako introduced herself, "I teach some the music classes here at Mahora Academy."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you Yamanaka-sensei." Akuro shook hands with her as Negi turned to watch the scene going on. However, that caught Sawako's attention and she couldn't help but give a light squeal, "Ah, and this must be Negi Springfield, the ten year old teacher I've been hearing about!"

"Nice to know his name's getting around." Akuro muttered, while Negi smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you Yamanaka-sensei."

"Ah, you're so cute!" Sawako surprised both teachers by smothering Negi, "I can't believe that you're actually at teacher!"

Akuro couldn't tell if he should be jealous or relieved that it wasn't happening to him, but what he could tell was that Negi wasn't able to breathe, "Please don't suffocate Negi, Yamanaka-sensei. 2-A still needs him."

Sawako let go of Negi, who breathed deeply for some air, while Sawako apologized, "Ah, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it since you're so cute!"

"Let's just hope that it doesn't happen too often, eh Yamanaka-sensei?" Takamichi's voice said from the side as he walked up to him.

"Ah, don't worry about that Takahata-sensei, I was just greeting both Sakuragi-sensei and Springfield-sensei." Sawako had a smile on her face as she said that, while Akuro looked at Negi worriedly, 'A part of me feels sorry for Negi if all his greetings are going to be like that…'

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you Sakuragi-sensei about 2-D," Sawako's attention suddenly shifted to Akuro, making him jump a bit, "I take it that they gave you their own handmade roster, right?"

"Uh, yeah they did," Akuro replied, as Takamichi started talking to Negi about something, "Something wrong with that?"

"Eh? No no, actually, I just came by to give you this," Sawako had a thin notebook in her hand, something that Akuro didn't realize she had on her, "It's 2-D's grades record Sakuragi-sensei. This'll tell you who in 2-D are doing good and those…not so much, though just to tell you, everyone's passing."

"Really? I'll look into it later." Akuro said as he received the notebook Sawako handed to him. However, before she left, she gave him a small hint, "Oh, and before I forget, the ones that you should really look into are Yayoi Takatsuki, Yui Hirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka, and Hibiki Ganaha. They're the lowest scorers, but all four of them are passing, last I checked."

"I'll look into it." Akuro replied, and Sawako just nodded before leaving. As she left however, he couldn't help but feel something off about her, but shook it off as being paranoid and thinking too much, before returning to the dreaded mess called paperwork.

* * *

_Mahora __–__ Akuro__'__s cabin_

Later at night, Akuro looked at the notebook that Sawako gave him and indeed he saw that the four she mentioned were the lowest scorers, despite still passing overall. In order they were Hibiki, Yui, Ritsu, then Yayoi, and from the marks, it looked like Yayoi was struggling here and there.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Akuro went over to open it, only to find Negi and Takamichi at the door, "Oh, hey you two, come on in."

"Thanks Akuro." Negi said while Takamichi just nodded and the two walked in.

Following tradition, the two guests made their way towards the living room area and as they sat down Takamichi commented, "You could use a bit more stuff in here Akuro-kun."

"Eh, it's good enough, I'd rather not go crazy with my money, or else I'd go broke in a week." Akuro handed Negi and Takamichi their drinks and he sat down on the couch opposite them, "So, what's going on?"

"Nothing serious, just that the Dean asked me to check up on you and Negi-kun here," Takamichi replied, while Negi looked a bit embarrassed, "So, you doing alright for the first few days?"

"…Yeah, the girls have been pretty well behaved for the most part," Akuro though for a moment as he sipped his drink, "By the way, do you know where I could find a map of Mahora? I still don't know my way around the place."

"I'd like that too." Negi spoke up.

Takamichi thought about it for a moment before he replied, "…You should go talk to the Dean's secretary. I think a few are kept around there."

"We'll do that." Akuro replied, with Negi nodding in agreement.

They spent some time catching up after that, telling jokes and stories before the two had to leave for dinner. Akuro walked them out, he himself going out for dinner, and as he left, he thought, 'Ha…still need to adjust back to Japanese ways… I wonder how everyone else is doing…I haven't seen them in a while…'

* * *

Notes: Ending this chapter's was a bit odd in my opinion. I was struggling to find a way to end it properly, and this is the result that came up. Anyway, I'm going to be introducing the Idolmaster girls first, if any of you notice, though if you want an idea of their profiles, not to mention looks, 'cause I admit that I suck at accurate descriptions, go to project-imas dot com, you'll find them there.

Oh, and if any of you readers read through the whole story again (which isn't that much), and find anything out of place, like missing borders or odd grammar, please mention it to me. I've been hearing that has been doing something to people's stories unintentionally (I think) in those terms, so I would appreciate a heads up and I'll check in on it.

Ah, and please review if you have any comments or ideas for this story, they would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for the two reviewers that have commented so far too. Well, that's it for now, until the next chapter, which is giving me trouble since it's a different version of the dodge ball chapters in vol.1.


	4. A Girl's Idol?

Chapter 4 – A Girl's Idol?

_January 10, 2003_

_Mahora Academy – 2-D Classroom_

Makoto Kikuchi gave a sigh as she listened to the lesson that Akuro was giving. She had this problem ever since she started middle school at Mahora Academy, but even though it's calmed down a bit, it was still unnerving to her. To this day, she's been trying to think up of a solution to her problem, with not much success.

Due to her looks and personality, some people tend to mistake her for a boy, and even though she wore Mahora's uniform, her looks sometimes got her into trouble due to misunderstandings. It wasn't her fault she supposed, that she was raised like a boy due to her father, who wanted to have a son instead. Her mother was a bit against it, but in the end, she let it go, in order to keep her husband happy. However, if there was one thing Makoto's mom got word in, was that Makoto be educated at Mahora Academy, the same place where she got her education. So Makoto enrolled at Mahora after completing elementary school, and things were fairly good, with 2-D not really questioning her looks, something she was grateful for.

That didn't mean there were a few misunderstandings between her and them though, but the most notable one was one between her and Yukiho. The shy girl sometimes freaked out whenever Makoto interacted with her, due to her boyish looks. However, after an incident which involved Makoto saving Yukiho from a bunch of guys, they became good friends, and Yukiho managed to look past Makoto's boyish looks to boot.

Now to her problem, which was mainly about her looks and a bit of her tomboy instincts, it tended to attract a bit of attention from the girls, and considering it was an all-girls school…well you imagine. Anyway, this earned her a few admirers, though it seemed to increase overtime. However, things really got bad for her due to the play she had to perform in at her first MahoraFest. She was busy helping with the Drama Club, since Yukiho had promised to help out, but asked Makoto to go in her place after something important came up. So Makoto ended up as an understudy for the role of Romeo in the Romeo and Juliet in the play, but after the main actor injured himself a day before MahoraFest showed up so she ended up taking the role. After the play however, the actress clung to Makoto for the rest of the day, apparently smitten with her, ending the day with a kiss. To say that it was Makoto's worst day was an understatement, not that the actress in question wasn't pretty. The Mahora Newspaper had a field day with it though, more or less as a joke, one couldn't tell.

Eventually, things started calming down, though there was an admirer here and there, but Makoto tolerated them. However, ever since the third term started, she started to think on how to be more feminine after a talk with Sawako during New Years Day.

'Haa…I don't know what to do, maybe I should ask Yamanaka-sensei for help again or something…'

Makoto was busy thinking to herself that she didn't notice Akuro was calling on her to answer a question. Even the person poking her, Yui, didn't help as he walked over to Makoto's desk and asked, "Kikuchi-san, can you hear me?'

When there was no response, Akuro sighed and lightly tapped Makoto on the head with his textbook. That jerked Makoto out of it with a "Wha-?" before realizing that Akuro was right beside her desk.

"Kikuchi-san, is there something wrong with my teaching? I know I've only been here for a few days, but if you find them boring already…"

Akuro sounded like he was reminiscing about something, that it made a few girls raise an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Makoto blushed a bit being the center of attention as she quickly shook her head, "Ah, sorry Sakuragi-sensei, I was just thinking of something!"

"Hmm, fine, I'll let you off if you can answer this question…"

Class went along as usual after that, though Akuro wondered if there was something wrong with Makoto, not knowing about her problem. Makoto still looked troubled for some reason, though she did keep her focus in class until it was over. Looking at the rest, everything seemed fine, but Akuro just thought that he was just over thinking things too much.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Campus_

Around lunchtime, Makoto was still in thought over how to become more feminine. She wandered around the campus after eating, ignoring the blushing looks some of the other students gave her, 'Hmm, maybe I can ask someone for some tips. Everyone in my class might help, but asking the Futami twins might be too much…'

That's when she heard shouting, and Makoto heard, "Who'd share with a bunch of grannies like you?"

Looking in the direction that the shout came from, Makoto saw that there were some high school seniors fighting with some students she recognized as part of 2-A. She also saw Negi nearby panicking and after a moment of observation, decided to rush over to help him. From what she could tell, it was a case of semi-bullying, and she was one of those against bullying.

However, it wasn't necessary as Takamichi showed up and diffused the situation after pulling Asuna and Ayaka back from the fray. As he told off the High Schoolers, Makoto went up to Negi asking, "Springfield-sensei, are you alright?"

"Ah, yes I'm fine, um, Kikuchi-san." Negi replied before turning his attention to Takamichi, "Takamichi's incredible, he solved the whole thing in seconds!"

"Yeah, Takahata-sensei's like that." Makoto agreed, "I heard that he took down a gang that formed in Mahora last year, but no one's sure about that."

"Wow…" Negi looked awed as Takamichi came over to them. He immediately said to Takamichi, "U-um… Thanks for the help, Takamichi!"

"Well…stuff like this is pretty common around here," Takamichi ruffled Negi's head before turning to Makoto, "And how are you doing today Kikuchi-san?"

"I'm alright Takahata-sensei, I was just about to come over and help Springfield-sensei." Makoto replied.

"I see…well, I'd better get going now. See you later Negi-kun, Kikuchi-san." Takamichi gave a wave before walking off. Negi looked at his watch and said, "Ah, it's almost time for the next class to start!"

"Ah, really? Shoot, I have gym next!" Makoto looked concerned and ran off shouting, "See you later Springfield-sensei!"

All Negi did was wave and as he watched Makoto run towards the school building, he suddenly thought, 'Wait, Kikuchi-san said she had gym next, but 2-A has gym next period…ah that's right, it's a double class booking. Something to do with an odd schedule, I think…"

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Rooftop_

Classes 2-A and 2-D met up with each other up the stairs, and the two classes started socializing with each other about interests and in some cases, what happened during lunch.

"Eh? Some of the seniors attacked you?"

"Yeah, it was pretty rough before Takahata-sensei showed up."

"Negi-sensei tried to stop it, but he had a hard time, especially since the seniors were all over him."

"I won't forgive them for putting their hands on Negi-sensei!"

"You really need to tone it down Yukihiro-san, you make it sound like he was being kidnapped."

"It almost wound up like that Akizuki-san!"

"You know, isn't putting two classes together for a gym period too much? I mean, there's over fifty of us here."

"Yeah, just because this school doesn't have enough courts for all the students, even though the grounds are so big."

"Isn't it due to the school being old?"

The talking stopped when the girls opened the door, only to find the seniors that harassed some of them earlier on the rooftop courts. The 2-A girls that were involved earlier rushed to the front to confront them, while everyone in 2-D shuffled to the side to watch. It was interesting to hear what was going on, but most of them wondered if they should intervene before things got out of hand.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Staffroom_

A bit earlier, at the start of his free period, Akuro was trying to relax while marking a few assignments. Grading papers was something he never thought he would do, and admits that he finds it a bit awkward despite what he and Negi learned at Oxford. Suddenly, someone poked his shoulder and he whipped around, only to find Takamichi and Shizuna behind him, "Ah, Takamichi, Shizuna-san, what's up?"

"Nothing really, we were just going to go and check on Negi, see how he's doing teaching a double class in one period," Takamichi replied, "Want to come check it out?"

A moment of silence passed before Akuro replied, "Eh, why not, gives me an excuse to get away from marking these papers…"

As the three of them walked, Akuro asked, "Negi's teaching gym this period as a sub if I remember, so which classes are he teaching?"

"Yours and his, if I remember right," Takamichi replied, "That's why Shizuna-sensei and I wanted to check up on him, see if he's handling things alright."

"Uh huh…" Akuro nodded, and Shizuna commented, "He's quite mature for his age, yet sometimes I still see a young boy when I look at him."

"His cousin tends to say that sometimes too." Akuro added, as the three of them started walking up the stairs.

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Rooftop_

As the three got closer to the roof, they heard shouts coming from the roof, and when they reached the top, they peeked through the exit only to find the seniors and 2-A trash talking to each other again. From the looks of things, 2-A had challenged the seniors to a dodge ball game and were setting up, with 2-D sitting on the sidelines.

"Oh dear, looks like the seniors are here too." Shizuna said as she put a hand to her mouth, "Though it looks like Negi-kun's got the situation under control somewhat."

"Should we do something?" Akuro asked, turning to Takamichi.

"No, let's see how things will turn out." Takamichi replied, and all Akuro did was just look at him for a few seconds before turning to watch the match.

2-D, as they had nothing against the high school students at the moment, were sitting on the sidelines as Haruka turned to Ritsuko, "Ne Ritsuko-iincho, shouldn't we stop something like this?"

"It's no problem," Ritsuko calmly replied, "Since Springfield-sensei thought of this up to settle things, all we can do is sit back and wait, though I am a bit worried what would happen if 2-A actually loses this match."

There were a few nods at that as the match started, and with Negi thinking of naïve thoughts, got hit first in the head with enough force to knock off his glasses and stun him. Some of the 2-D girls winced slightly at that as Akari said, "Headshot."

As Asuna returned the ball full force, half of 2-D looked at Akari funny before Kureha said, "Never mind her, she tends to comment on odd things."

The girls just shrugged as they turned their attention back to the match. As Haruna, Chizuru, and Fuuka were taken out of the game, Makoto whispered, "You know, how long do you think they'll notice?"

The next shot from the high school team took out Kazumi, Satomi, Natsumi, and Satsuki, as Takane overheard Makoto and asked, "Notice what, Kikuchi-san?"

"Their handicap." Makoto pointed out. The rest of 2-D wondered about that when they took a good look at the playing field and figured out what Makoto was talking about. That's when the 2-A team figured it out too that having more players on the team was a disadvantage with a small playing field, and Fumika was taken out, prompting Akari to say, "Headshot."

The match went on, until the high school students revealed themselves as Kanto's Regional Dodgeball Tournament Champions, the Black Lillies. At that, practically all of 2-D started giggling, loudly enough that the high schoolers looked at them and the leader shouted, "What's so funny?"

"They can't be serious; a high school dodge ball team?"

"I thought that it was just a rumor from the high school division…"

"Fufufu, I can't believe that they introduced themselves so boldly."

"They were wearing that under their uniforms…?"

Apparently, 2-A wasn't the only class to think that this turn of events was as absurd as they thought. The giggles lasted awhile, and it didn't get any better when the Black Lillies' leader ordered for a 'Triangle Attack'.

"Okay, who gets that reference?" Ritsuko manage to put out while trying to suppress her own giggles.

Back with the teachers, even Akuro nearly tripped on himself as he heard the Black Lillies introduce themselves, "Ugh…are they serious?"

"It's true," Shizuna assured him, "It's not well known, but there are high schools around Japan that still support the playing of Dodgeball, though it's more like an underground tournament. It's pretty much the reason why little is known about it."

All Akuro could do was look at Shizuna oddly until Takamichi said, "Don't think so hard about it Akuro-kun. If it helps, I had a bit of trouble believing it myself when I first heard of it."

A nod came from Akuro as he put himself back together to watch the match. 2-A's numbers kept on dwindling, with the latest being Asuna, who was hit twice. When the leader talked about the Black Lillies' policy, Miki commented, "Afuu, so the Black Lillies cheated their way to become champions? That's what it sounds like to Miki."

Another wave of giggles from both middle school classes erupted and the leader was about to say something when a gust of wind started blowing up. Akuro narrowed his eyes when he saw what was happening, but stopped when Asuna bopped him on the head, stopping Negi's spell in it's tracks. Sighing a breath of relief, he muttered, "That was a close one…"

In the end, 2-A managed to win against the high school team with a number of odd maneuvers and they were currently celebrating when the leader tried to take a shot at Asuna's back. Negi dashed over to intercept, but before he could catch the ball, it collided with something long and black, catching everyone's attention as the two items crashed onto the floor. As everyone eyed the black cloth that was wrapped around Yatsusuna and Ryuhana, Negi and Asuna looked in the direction that it came from, but they found nothing. However, Negi and 2-D recognized the cloth as Akuro's, and picked it up.

Meanwhile, the three high school girls that were left on the field snapped out of their surprised state after what had happened, when Ritsuko suddenly shouted out, "Hey Makoto-san, those senpais look like they're going to bully Springfield-sensei and the girls again!"

"What? That's not cool!" Makoto shouted, jumping to her feet. All of the high school girls turned to her and she suddenly froze, having a really bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

"Hey, isn't that…?"

"I think so, that person said 'Makoto', didn't she?"

Suddenly, there was a shout from one of the high school girls, "Kyaa! It's Makoto-kun!"

"Makoto-kun?"

Everyone looked at Makoto as she started to run towards one of the other exits in a panic shouting, "Damn it Ritsuko-iincho! I'll get you back for this!"

All of the high school girls started chasing after her, leaving surprised looks on some of the students of 2-A. Negi in particular asked, "W-what just happened?"

"Ah, you don't know, do you sensei?" Haruka asked as everyone from 2-D got up and walked towards him. When Negi nodded, Haruka explained, "Well, I won't tell the whole story, since it's kind of embarrassing, but simply put, Makoto-san a bit…popular within the school."

Negi looked confused, while 2-A knew what Haruka was talking about when Ami spoke up, "It's because of that kiss!"

"Yup, from that play!" Mami added.

The Futami twins were about to say something else when Takane covered their mouths and said, "That's enough you two."

"Hai, Ohimechin!" The twins replied, while Elis pointed towards the black cloth and asked, "Isn't that Sakuragi-sensei's?"

"He must've been watching, if he's the one that threw it." Kanako commented. She was looking at the cloth like something was bothering her, but no one noticed.

Meanwhile, Makoto had already run down the stairs and was currently hiding under the staircase as the high school girls ran past her. She ducked out when the coast was clear but nearly jumped when someone called out, "Kikuchi-san? What are you doing?"

Whipping around in fright, Makoto was ready to bolt when she found herself facing Akuro, who had just come down from the other exit. She sighed a breath of relief as she said, "Sakuragi-sensei, it's just you…"

"…You look like you just ran away from a mob though." Akuro observed, having a slightly amused look on his face.

Makoto blushed lightly at that, but managed to say, "You saw everything, didn't you?"

"Not really, just those high school girls calling out for 'Makoto-kun'. They're going to get caught by the other teachers if they keep making a racket though," Akuro replied, "Anyway, aren't you going to head back to class now?"

"Oh, uh, yeah… Uh, see you later Sakuragi-sensei." Makoto managed to speak before she ran back up the stairs towards the rooftop. Akuro just sighed and thought, 'Well, might as well get back to work. Negi's doing a good job, and I'm sure he'll hold onto my blades until school ends…'

* * *

_Mahora Academy – Staff Room_

At the end of the day, both Akuro and Negi were at their desks preparing to go home. As Negi handed Akuro his nodachis the older boy asked, "So, how was your day Negi?"

"Exhausting, but I'm pretty sure that you already know that." Negi replied as he stuffed his papers in a folder.

"I know; wasn't expecting that high school group to be there either," Akuro managed to finish packing everything he needed as he threw his bookbag over his shoulder, "Still, alls well that ends well. It hasn't been a week and things are already like this…"

Meanwhile, Makoto was busy heading towards the staff room, looking for Sawako, "I hope she's still here…"

When Makoto reached the entrance, she was about to open the door when she heard Akuro say, "By the way, how was Kikuchi-san during gym? She looked a bit uneasy after I pulled her away from those high schoolers."

"Um, she seemed fine, from what I can tell," Negi thought back to that certain period, "Though there was a bit of uneasiness between her and Akizuki-san."

"I see…" Akuro checked himself to see if he had everything, just as Negi was picking up his own things, "Still, those fangirl reactions from the high schoolers were a bit weird…"

"I heard that Kikuchi-san is popular with many of the girls here for her, um, what did Akizuki-san say, her tomboy looks?" Negi supplied as he fetched his coat.

Makoto couldn't help but slump at that, while wishing that Ritsuko would trip on her own feet one day. Figuring that Sawako wasn't in, she was about to leave when she heard Akuro say, "Still, I think that Kikuchi-san is a cute girl. She definitely has that feminine charm in my opinion."

"I agree," Makoto her footsteps and she instinctively ran around the corner to hide as Akuro and Negi came out of the staff room, with Negi asking, "By the way, what are you doing for dinner?"

"Eh, I was going to go out to a restaurant for dinner," Makoto watched as the two walked towards the entrance, hearing Akuro say, "Want to come with me?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

As the two teachers left her line of sight, Makoto couldn't help but feel happier after hearing those two talk about her, 'They think I'm cute…'

Smiling to herself, Makoto decided to look for Sawako later and head back to the dorms. She just remembered that Ritsuko was going to cook something for her as her way of apologizing, something she mentioned during the gym period.

* * *

**Notes:** Okay, this chapter didn't come out as well as I hoped because of one thing; the dodgeball chapters. I just couldn't think of an effective way to integrate the two classes into the scene so I just put them on the sidelines as commentators. Another thing is that this is more of a character chapter for Makoto. Why? I don't know, it just came to me and I rolled with it. This isn't something that should be happening early in the story, but stuff happens.

Oh yes, there is something that I need help with from the readers. It's nothing huge, but it's more about the clubs that each of the 2-D girls would be in. I still haven't managed to put some of the girls into at least one club, simply because I don't know where they would best fit in. The girls I'm having trouble with are **Hibiki Ganaha, Ai Hidaka, Miki Hoshi,** and **Iori Minase**. Suggestions are appreciated, but if nothing comes up by the time the appropriate chapter come up, I'll just wing it. Also, I'm open to suggestions for the other girls too, just saying.

One more thing, to dad90, I'm not sure if you already read the note that's on top of my profile page, but for some reason, I can't respond to any of your messages. Please check if your Private Messaging feature is enabled, 'cause I don't know any other way to contact you at the moment. I'll be able to answer your questions by then.


	5. Omake

Omake: Options?

Haruka: I'm so bored…where's Author-san?

Miki: Out focusing on another fic, that Nep-something-or-other one, afuu…

Ritsuko: Hmph, you'd think with the Negima manga over, he'd be able to solidify the plot enough to start popping out chapters.

Ami: I'm bored. Hey Mami, let's go bug the Narutakis again!

Mami: Sure thing Ami!

Ritsuko: Hey, wait you two-! Ugh, this is getting ridiculous.

Yukiho: P-Please calm down, Ritsuko-san. Here's some tea for you…

Ritsuko: Thank you, Yukiho-san. …What's Hibiki-san doing?

Chihaya: Commenting on how good she looks in a Mahora uniform. Seriously, just because she actually has a picture of her in the uniform from that Idolmaster Break cd bonus…

Ritsuko: I see… So, does anybody know what the Author's thinking? Goodness, he might as well be as bad as the Producer in Puchimasu.

Haruka: He's not that bad, Ritsuko-san. From what I've heard, he's actually in a bit of a rut with his Neptunia fic, so he's looking back at us.

Chihaya: Anything else?

Haruka: Hmm… I think he's having a bit of trouble with the setting. Apparently, to differentiate from Negima, he wants us to be taught by Akuro-sensei at the beginning of our second year, instead of at the same time as Negi-sensei. With that, it'll be different from Second Childhood Sword.

Makoto: Now that sounds interesting…

Haruka: Wah! Makoto-san? When did you come in?

Makoto: A little while ago. I got tired of the Futami and Narutaki twins saying that Kugimiya-san looks more feminine than me… I'm gonna get those girls someday…

Ritsuko: Don't worry Makoto-san, I'll reign in those two soon enough. Anyway, anything else, Haruka-san?

Haruka: Umm… I think he's planning on making a few more classes, putting all the additional girls from the Cinderella Girls series into three or four of them.

Chihaya: …Wow, that's going to be a challenge. The list of girls isn't exactly small…

Ryo: Ritsuko-nee-san! Save meee!

Ai: Come back here, Ryo-kun! You need to try on your Mahora uniform!

Eri: Ai-san, please calm down!

Ritsuko: …Anyway, so the main problem is the timeline issue?

Haruka: Pretty much. Author-san wants to get opinions from the readers before he makes a decision.

Yukiho: U-Um, Ritsuko-san. Don't you think you should check on R-Ryo-kun?

Ritsuko: I'm sure he'll be fine. I doubt Ai will do anything horrible to him.

Ai: Hehehe…we've got you know Ryo-kun!

Ryo: N-No! Stay back Ai-chan! Gyaoon! Not the pants!

Eri: A-Ai-san, there are girls around!

Ritsuko: …I'd better go rescue him. Later!

Haruka: Well, and that's the story everyone! Author-san wants to know if he should change the time setting or not. So please reply by review or PM-waaaah! *Thud*

Chihaya: …And Haruka-san's clumsiness continues. Are you alright?

Haruka: Hehe, I'm fine. Just tripped. Ahem, anyways, that's it for now, and Author-san apologizes for the lack of a chapter. And just when I was going to figure out Akuro-sensei too…

Yukiho: What?

Haruka: Oh nothing…

Miki: ...zzzzz...

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it. As I don't know what to do with this story now, it's pretty much stalled until I can pick either option. So vote through PM or review to decide if the time change should be implemented, or leave the fic as it is. Sorry for not popping out an actual chapter, but I ran into a roadblock with that one.**


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